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For Trustees Week, we’ve been speaking to the people behind Leukaemia Care’s governance and strategy – the trustees who help steer our work supporting everyone affected by leukaemia. This week, we caught up with Dr. Suzy Dilly, one of our newer trustees, to learn more about her background, motivations, and experience so far.
Tell us a bit about yourself – and how long have you been a trustee?
I’m a scientist by training, and I’ve spent my career focused on developing drugs for diseases that don’t yet have cures. That passion actually started when I was quite young, after my cat passed away from an untreatable condition, I became fascinated by how medicines are discovered and developed.
I studied chemistry, completed a PhD, and went on to work in oncology research and development. Eventually, I founded a biotech company that successfully took a drug through to phase two clinical trials. Since stepping down from that CEO role, I’ve focused on helping entrepreneurs develop innovative ideas and have now joined Cambridge Enterprise, where I help academics progress early-stage research. I became a Leukaemia Care trustee earlier this year – so I’m still very much learning the ropes.
What does a Leukaemia Care trustee typically do?
Trustees provide strategic oversight, ensuring the charity is well-run, financially sound, and focused on delivering its mission. We meet four times a year for board meetings, plus an AGM, and we each sit on subcommittees – mine is the governance subcommittee.
So far, I’ve been involved in discussions around budget decisions, including reviewing the hardship schemes that provide direct financial support to patients and their families. It’s all about helping the executive team make the best possible decisions for the people the charity serves.
What skills and expertise do you bring?
My background is in corporate governance and risk management, which naturally aligns with my role on the governance subcommittee. Having spent many years in the commercial world – particularly in biotech R&D and as a CEO – I bring a strong understanding of how to assess opportunities and manage risk responsibly.
That experience translates well to a charity setting, though the balance is different. In commercial biotech, risk-taking is often essential to innovation. In a charity, we must be much more risk-averse to ensure donor funds are spent responsibly and that every pound has a demonstrable impact.
How important is it to have a mix of skills on a board of trustees?
It’s absolutely vital. Diversity of thought and experience makes for better decision-making, whether in a business or a charity. You need people who can spot different kinds of issues or opportunities.
For example, having someone with deep financial expertise takes real pressure off the executive team. Likewise, having people with scientific, operational, or governance backgrounds helps ensure all angles are covered.
How much work is typically involved?
It’s not an overwhelming time commitment, but it’s meaningful. Between the four board meetings, the AGM, trustee day, and subcommittee meetings, I’d say it works out to around three or four days across the year.
What’s so special about Leukaemia Care – and why did you join?
For me, it was about staying connected to patients and the real-world impact of healthcare. My current scientific work focuses on very early-stage innovation, which can feel quite far removed from patients. Becoming a trustee allowed me to balance that by contributing to something that has immediate, tangible benefits for people.
Leukaemia Care stood out because of its direct patient impact. The Navigator scheme, for instance, is brilliant. It puts people in hospitals to guide and support patients when they need it most. That level of on-the-ground impact is incredibly powerful.
How does being a trustee make you feel – and does it help widen your own skills and knowledge?
I feel genuinely proud to be part of Leukaemia Care. It’s a privilege to contribute to something that helps people so directly. From a professional point of view, it’s also been really valuable as it’s broadened my experience as a non-executive board member in the not-for-profit sector, which is quite different from the corporate world I came from.
The team has been so welcoming, too. I’ve felt that my thoughts and contributions are valued, even as a new trustee still learning how everything fits together.
What message or advice would you give someone considering becoming a Leukaemia Care trustee?
Do it – but take the time to talk to people first. Speak to current trustees who have been with the charity for years and bring such passion and perspective.
If you’re considering joining, you’ll find it’s an incredibly rewarding experience. The board is warm, inclusive, and genuinely open to new ideas. You’ll learn a lot, and you’ll make a difference that really matters.
If you want to make an impact in the charity sector and are interested in becoming a trustee for Leukaemia Care, you can find out more here.