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Our Kind Care Leadership

HC-One is proud to introduce some of our company leaders, who together form our Kind Care Leadership. Our leadership prides itself on its extensive experience and knowledge in the health and social care sector, with a shared commitment and passion to providing the kindest possible care to our Residents.

James Tugendhat

Chief Executive

James joined as Chief Executive in September 2020; he cites one of the key reasons for joining was HC-One’s commitment to being the Kind Care Company. He is working with the team to foster a culture that actively encourages simple kindness in everything we do, supporting those in our care to lead their best life and to deliver the company’s mission of being the ‘first choice’ for families, Colleagues and Commissioners in each of the communities HC-One serves.  
 
James has worked across a wide range of sectors, having started his career in consumer and financial services, before holding leadership roles in healthcare and the broader care sector. Most recently, he led the European and international division of US-based Bright Horizons. Prior to that, he spent a number of years with Bupa where he worked across several parts of the group, including leading Bupa’s NHS commissioning effort. He has also been President and CEO of Boston-based Health Dialog, a ground-breaking health analytics and disease management business acquired by Bupa. James is also Non-Executive Director of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and Non-Executive Chair of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice.

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David Smith

Chief Financial Officer

David has been part of HC-One since the company’s inception in 2011; as Chief Financial Officer he has held a prominent role in all HC-One’s acquisitions and re-financings as well as being a key part in the company’s ever-increasing financial resilience.

David is a charted accountant with a degree in physics and over ten years’ experience in the care sector. He has a wealth of financial expertise from a number of senior finance positions and working for Price Waterhouse Cooper in the UK, United States and Middle East.

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Stephen Butterworth

Executive Director - Operations

Having started his career in manufacturing, Stephen transitioned to the care sector to become part of an industry that makes a real difference to people’s lives every single day. Stephen has taken the lead on many high-profile projects since joining HC-One in 2012 and believes that in order to deliver the kindest possible care, you must be considerate, genuine and friendly; qualities that he adopts in every decision he makes.
 
As Executive Director for Operations, Stephen supports all our homes and domiciliary care services, as well as leading our company vision to be the first choice for all Colleagues, families, and commissioners. While being a dedicated football fan and Middlesbrough Football Club season ticket holder, Stephen is first and foremost a family man and is happiest when spending quality time with his loved ones.

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Mike McKessar

Executive Director – Commercial

Mike joined HC-One in August 2021 following a career that has seen him work across many different countries and cultures, specialising in the health and social care sector. To Mike, kindness means being open and giving the gift of time, by actively choosing to listen and engage. These values were part of the reason he joined the care sector, as he feels at home working with people who genuinely want to make a difference to their community.
 
Mike says a good life is ‘doing things you love doing with the people you love’ and for him, much of this quality time is spent exploring in the great outdoors. His HC-One name badge says: ‘Curious Kiwi Dad’, as it is a collection of the things he loves most: problem-solving, his home country, New Zealand, and his children.

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John Handley

Executive Director – People


With a wealth of experience across the healthcare, IT and childcare sectors, John has a track record of delivering sustainable personal and organisational change for companies across the globe. John joined HC-One in May 2021, because his values match those of HC-One, which involves ensuring that the people who work and live in our homes can be their best self and live their best life, in an environment rooted in kindness.
 
When asked what kindness means to him, John explained it is simply being present when people need your support, and always being thoughtful and compassionate. John believes the key to a good life is family, good psychological and physical health and having a real purpose in life, doing what you enjoy which for John, amongst many other things, is following one of his passions, Liverpool F.C. 

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Charlie Cutler

General Counsel

Charlie joined HC One in January 2022 with more than 15 years’ experience working in regulated industries, predominantly financial services and more recently in retirement living and affordable housing.  Charlie chose to join HC One because she wanted to work with an organisation that has a clear purpose to continually improve the environment for all of our residents.

To Charlie, kindness means helping other people and making a real difference to the lives of both Residents and Colleagues in everything that we do at HC-One. Charlie believes in living your best life and loves spending time outdoors with her family.

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Tracey Tomlins

Managing Director – East and West Midlands

Tracey has always been passionate about the care industry. She started her career in the sector as a Care Assistant 37 years ago and progressed to a number of senior positions, before joining HC-One as an Area Director in 2017 and more recently the Managing Director for our homes in the East and West Midlands in 2021. As part of the kind care company, Tracey prides herself on her kind, caring and compassionate nature; she has dedicated her life to her job and sees it as a gift to be working with older people.

Tracey believes that a good life stems from health, happiness and simply making time to do the things you enjoy, which is something she extends to Residents, Relatives and Colleagues in our homes. Outside of work, Tracey’s favourite pastime is going on family holidays to Tenerife, as she has been visiting the island for 29 years and hopes to retire there one day.

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Bernard Mawoyo

Managing Director - London and South East

Bernard’s career in healthcare began as a Registered Nurse, working for the NHS before moving into the private healthcare sector where he developed a passion for adult social care and gained a specialist degree in the field. He later progressed to Regional Director for a care group, before joining HC-One in 2023 where he is dedicated to driving a positive workplace culture and advocating excellence throughout his team to ultimately make a difference to our Residents and their loved ones at HC-One.
 
As Managing Director at HC-One, making a difference to people’s lives is a rewarding experience for Bernard and he believes that listening and learning to Residents and their families is fundamental to delivering high quality and innovative care. Meanwhile outside of work, Bernard enjoys spending quality time with his family and exploring his passion for music.

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Rachael Junge

Managing Director - Lincolnshire, Sheffield and North West England

Rachael has worked in the care sector from a young age and is passionate about helping older people to live a very good life. After completing work experience at Secondary school, Rachael felt a natural calling to help people and she therefore started her career as a care assistant, working her way up both the academic and  career ladder before joining the HC-One family in 2018.
 
As Managing Director, Rachael leads our homes in Lincolnshire, Sheffield and North West England to achieve the best possible outcomes for Residents and their loved ones, by regulating compliance, empowering her team and building performance within each home. Kindness is at the heart of every decision Rachael makes, which has helped to build the foundation of her management technique. She believes that even the smallest acts of kindness can make the biggest difference and supports Residents and her team to follow their dreams in any way she can.

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Nicola Bales

Managing Director - Yorkshire and North East England

Nicola joined HC-One in April 2021 bringing with her a wealth of experience in the care sector. Having qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in 2007, Nicola initially joined the care sector in a finance position, later working her way up to become Director of Finance for a care group, before being appointed as a Managing Director.
 
As part of the Kind Care Company, Nicola is dedicated to upholding our reputation as an inclusive care provider that delivers the kindest possible care to older people. To Nicola, kindness means always being friendly, sincere, and warm-hearted, while leaving a positive impact on others, which she strives to achieve for all our Residents. Nicola believes having a healthy and happy family is essential to living a good life which, for her, means spending time with her husband and sons usually doing football related activities.

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Maxine Smedley

Managing Director - Scotland

With vast experience in the healthcare sector, Maxine joined the HC-One team in 2022 to oversee the delivery of kind care in Scotland. Before being appointed as a Managing Director at HC-One, Maxine enjoyed a 25-year career in Boots, progressing from a dispenser to a pharmacist and later becoming Head of Scotland, where she gained significant expertise in operations and leadership.
 
As Managing Director, Maxine is passionate about making a difference in each of the communities we serve, by supporting our Residents to live their best lives. She believes kind care means treating others as you would like to be treated yourself, and trying to see the world through our Residents’ and their loved ones’ eyes. Outside of work, Maxine enjoys making memories with her family and exploring new places together. 

 

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