Charity appoints first permanent CEO

Kids’ Village, a charity aiming to build the UK’s first holiday village for children with critical illnesses, has appointed Katrina Cooke as its first permanent CEO.

Cooke comes from the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, where she was chief commercial officer and previously director of marketing & communications.

Her career started at Aston Villa Football Club in the marketing & communications department, focusing on data analytics and customer insight.

Cooke begins her role on July 1, taking over from Paul Faulkner, who has served as Interim CEO since January.

Faulkner will continue to assist Kids’ Village during the summer before transitioning to a Trustee role.

Cooke said: “I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to lead Kids’ Village as its first permanent CEO. The charity is inspired by founder Sam Fletcher’s own experience with childhood cancer, and the Fletcher family and Kids’ Village Chairman Doug Wright have my full commitment to making Kids’ Village a reality and to providing holidays for sick children and their families.

“Paul Faulkner has done a phenomenal job in his role as interim CEO in the last six months, and I look forward to working with Paul again, firstly during a handover period and then in his role as a Kids’ Village trustee. As a charity, our current task is to raise £5m to build Kids’ Village in Wychnor, Staffordshire and I would welcome the opportunity to meet with anyone interested in finding out more, getting involved, or donating to this important cause.”