Hannah and Anne take the reins at Age UK Teesside

Teesside’s leading charity for older people has a new Chair and Chief Executive.

Hannah Bows has stepped up to the position of Chair of the Board of Trustees, whilst Anne Sykes, formerly Commercial Manager, becomes Chief Executive of Age UK Teesside.

The move comes as the charity prepares to deal with the challenges of an ageing population and financial pressures on NHS and local authority services for over 50s.

Hannah Bows is an academic at Durham University, where her work includes extensive research on domestic abuse and violence against older women.

She said: “Our aim in the coming years is to work in partnership with the public services and other charities to deliver the support which older people are entitled to. This will mean responding to some of the problems which are now developing for over 50s, including healthcare, financial pressures, loneliness and isolation.

“We are now developing a new strategic plan which will map out a new approach to dealing with these issues for the next three to four years.”

Anne Sykes is a marketing and business development specialist who worked for a number of communications agencies in the area before joining Age UK Teesside.

She said: “Our staff and volunteers are doing a fantastic job in helping older people and I’m really looking forward to leading them towards even better things in the coming years.”