Rhodri Thomas has been appointed as the new Head of British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cymru, where he will lead the charity’s operations and activities throughout Wales.
Rhodri joined The British Heart Foundation in 2017 and has held a variety of roles in Wales and across the UK and brings a wealth of experience to the role, which Rhodri held on an interim basis in 2022/23.
On his appointment, Rhodri said: “I’m delighted and excited to be taking up this latest role at BHF Cymru at a time when our lifesaving work has never been more needed. I joined the BHF back in 2017 and since then I’m constantly reminded of the devastating affect that heart and circulatory diseases has on families and communities across Wales. I’m honoured to lead the excellent BHF Cymru team to continue drive forward our work in Wales to help fund more research to keep families together for longer.”
Prior to joining BHF Cymru, Rhodri delivered a wide range of community engagement and fundraising projects for charitable organisations including Prostate Cancer UK, Menter Iaith and Interlink, and is looking forward to this latest challenge.
“800 people in Wales will die from a heart or circulatory disease in the next month, and around 340,000 people across the country are currently living with heart and circulatory diseases. That is why the work of our researchers is so important and why we urgently need the public’s support to fund the breakthroughs and treatments to keep hearts beating. I cannot wait to get started.”
Rhodri will lead work in Wales, acting as an ambassador for the organisation aiming to grow support, income and influence within the research community, as well as working alongside Welsh Government and healthcare partners to improve the prevention and treatment of heart and circulatory diseases across Wales.
BHF Cymru are currently funding £3.6 million in research projects in universities across Wales.
British Heart Foundation Chief Executive, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, said: “We are absolutely delighted to appoint Rhodri as our Head of BHF Cymru after seven years of service at Team BHF. He has been a huge champion of our work and led so many successful projects that have had a real impact on the lives of people affected by heart and circulatory diseases. He has also undertaken great personal challenges to fundraise, such as running 52 half marathons in one year, and I’m looking forward to seeing BHF Cymru continue to thrive under his leadership.”
