NEW POPPY FACTORY CHIEF EXECUTIVE APPOINTED

The Poppy Factory is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Chief Executive, Deirdre Mills. Deirdre will take up her post on 16^th January 2017.

Deirdre enjoyed a successful first career in the British Army, and has subsequently worked in communication and strategy development and also as a consultant to the third sector. She spent several years abroad raising cross-Government funding and subsequently developing a charity involved in implementing HIV and gender policies.

More recently she was a Director at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) for the UK and Northern Area where she led a 110-strong geographically-dispersed team and engaged with Parliamentary, Diplomatic and Honorary representatives. She also experienced The Poppy Factory’s “Getting You Back to Work” programme through working with amputee, Wayne Harrod, a client of the scheme, who is now working as a gardener and site manager of the CWGC site in Cambridge. Deirdre also holds three Masters Degrees and a Graduate Diploma in Law.

Mark Perowne, Chairman of The Poppy Factory, said “We look forward to welcoming Deirdre to The Poppy Factory and working with her to deliver the charity’s recently-agreed Five-Year Plan.”