A banking director has been appointed as the chair of an NHS foundation trust.

Joanne (Jo) Palmer has been acting chair of Medway NHS Foundation Trust since April but will now take on the role on a fixed basis.

The banking and financial services chief has been a non-executive director since September 2015.

She draws on more than 30 years' experience in the field of banking and financial services, most recently with Lloyds in a range of disciplines.

The director has twenty years of executive leadership experience and ten years of board and trustee level appointments in complex highly regulated sectors spanning both the public and private spheres, as well as the third sector.

Jo has also helped spearhead Llyods transformation into a digital bank and has established strategic reviews leading to the workplace and relocation strategy of 80,000 employees.

A passionate environmental conservationist, she led the sustainability programme for Lloyds Banking Group achieving 100 per cent renewable energy supply to UK Operations, eliminating 60 million pieces of single use plastic from catering operations and delivering a carbon neutral footprint strategy.

Jo has extensive mergers and acquisition experience; she has held executive leadership positions in the acquisitions of TSB, HBoS, MBNA, the sale of LTSB Registrars to Equiniti Group Limited, and the joint venture large-scale outsource provider iPSL.

The Trust boss was also responsible for emerging talent across the 20,000 colleagues within the banking group and was Co-Chair of the Group’s women’s network, Breakthrough, along with sponsorship of inclusion and diversity activities across Lloyds Banking Group.

The appointment process was led by the Trust’s governors.

Lead Governor Glyn Allen said: “Jo brings a wealth of experience to the role and has an in-depth knowledge of the Trust. During her time as Acting Chair, the Trust has made considerable improvements and we look forward to working with her over the coming months and years to build on this progress”

Jo said: “It is a great privilege to be taking on the role of Chair and I thank the governors for the confidence and trust they have placed in me. Our Medway has huge potential, with dedicated staff and an incredibly supportive community, and I am eager to continue the work that is well underway to make Medway an outstanding place to work and to care for our patients and their families”.

Chief Executive James Devine said: “I look forward to working with Jo as Chair as we continue to strive to deliver the very highest levels of care for our patients. I have no doubt that the Trust will benefit greatly from her broad experience and knowledge as we continue to meet the challenges ahead and build on the improvements we have made so far”.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway