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Age UK Mid Mersey Appoints Rachel McKernan as CEO

Published on 07 March 2024 08:15 AM

The Board of Trustees are delighted to announce the formal appointment of Rachel McKernan as the new Chief Executive Officer of Age UK Mid Merse, with previous CEO Shelley Brown staying on as Director of Operations.

Rachel brings a wealth of experience in health and social care, having previously served as the CEO for Age UK Isle of Wight and as Assistant Director for the Children’s Charity Barnardo’s. With a commendable 25-year track record in the charity sector, Rachel has also led initiatives in public health, mental health, and suicide prevention.

Previous CEO Shelley Brown who has dedicated 22 years to Age UK Mid Mersey has recently stepped down but remains an integral part of the organisation. She will continue to play a crucial role as the Director of Operations, overseeing statutory and health & safety compliance, financial matters, and ensuring the seamless functioning of the charity.

Expressing her enthusiasm for the new role, Rachel McKernan emphasised her commitment to supporting older people, particularly in the challenging times brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. As she steps into her position, Rachel is determined to carry forward the three-year Strategic Plan, a collaborative effort between Shelley and the board. She stated "I feel really privileged to have been given the opportunity to take this amazing charity into the future. We’ve got a fabulous strategic plan that the previous CEO and the board have worked on – they’ve set a real clear vision, my role now is to turn that vision into reality and to make a real difference for those over 50 across mid Mersey."

Confirming the appointment, Pete Stubbs, Chair of the Trustees for Age UK Mid Mersey said “On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Rachel to the role of CEO. Throughout her career Rachel has shown herself to be a dynamic and decisive leader who builds confident and collaborative teams. Rachel has a proven record in developing and delivering services to meet the diverse needs of clients, building constructive relationships with local partners and making sure the organisation has secure income sources to deliver services with confidence.Rachel has a great commitment to the aims of Age UK Mid Mersey and as she said recently ‘I am passionate about ensuring that everyone can live their best life with dignity as we grow older’. We are all very excited about Rachel’s appointment and firmly believe she is the right person to help Age UK Mid Mersey achieve our ambition of improving the quality of life and empowerment for people aged 50 and over.”