Simon Gillespie is to leave his post as chief executive of the MS Society to take the reins at the British Heart Foundation from next April.
Gillespie (pictured), a former Navy commander, will succeed Peter Hollins who is retiring after a decade at the Heart Foundation.
Gillespie has been at the MS Society for six years, following jobs at the Charity Commission and the Healthcare Commission. Before that he spent 20 years in the Royal Navy, including command of HMS Sheffield.
BHF chairman Philip Yea said Gillespie had a successful track record in leadership and an extensive knowledge of the challenges facing healthcare and medical research charities.
Hilary Sears, chair of the MS Society, said that under his leadership the charity had achieved a step-change in the quality and breadth of its services, increased its research spend and raised its public profile. He also oversaw the introduction of robust new governance arrangements that have made the organisation “fully transparent and accountable”, she said.
Of Hollins’ departure, Yea added: “During his time with the BHF the charity has rapidly expanded its retail division, marked its 50th birthday with a £50m regenerative medicine programme, and helped persuade government and retailers to back traffic-light coloured food labels.”
The British Heart Foundation recently topped a poll run by CharityComms to find the charity sector’s favourite brand, winning 41 per cent of the vote among more than 1,200 charity communications professionals.
It boasts the UK’s largest charity shops chain, with over 700 stores producing income of more than £150m and profits of over £31m last financial year.
Overall, the BHF's income for the year ended 31 March 2012 was just under £250m, up from £233m the previous year. Its steady growth over the last three years saw it climb from 14th to 10th in the Charity 100 Index this year, overtaking Save the Children and the British Red Cross.
The MS Society, by contrast, fell several places in the Charity 250 Index this year, from 60th to 78th. In its most recent financial year, to 31 December 2011, it had income of £28.9m but spent £32.7m. It employs around 400 people and has over 9,000 volunteers.
The BHF boasts 2,700 staff and over 24,000 volunteers.
