Fawad Minhas, Commercial Director
Fawad brings to Allergy UK nearly 30 years of experience in commercial strategy, income generation and partnership development; having worked with industry institutions and corporate partners across both consumer and B2B specialist sectors.
At Allergy UK, Fawad leads the charity’s commercial strategy and growth, creating meaningful partnerships and endorsements that help fund vital work the charity delivers to improve the lives of people living with allergic disease.
Passionate about purpose-driven collaboration, Fawad is committed to connecting businesses with the charity’s mission, ensuring every partnership contributes to lasting impact and greater awareness of the challenges faced by the allergy community.
Dean Young, Business Development
Gemma Jones, Business Development Officer
Femi Samaiye, Corporate Projects Officer
Femi holds a master’s degree in project management and specialise in the planning, scheduling, and successful delivery of projects funded by corporate partners. With a strong background in managing diverse initiatives, Femi ensures that all aspects of a project align with strategic goals, while meeting partner expectations and deadlines. His expertise includes coordinating cross-functional teams, optimising processes, and delivering impactful results for both stakeholders and beneficiaries.
Leadership Team
Allergy UK is governed by a Board of Directors and Trustees, and a Chief Executive, and is supported by a Senior Leadership team.
Simone Miles, Chief Executive
Simone has been Chief Executive at Allergy UK since March 2024. Previously she was Operations Director, a role held since joining the organisation in July 2019. Before that, she worked in youth and career services.
Awareness of allergy and the impact of living with allergy is still very low. For the millions of people affected by allergy, access to appropriate services and support and to feel safe in their day to day life should be a given. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Our charity and the amazing team I work with continue to provide the much-needed support, advice, and advocacy, putting those with allergy at the centre of all that we do. We would love to be in a position to close our doors because allergy has been eliminated but until that time comes we will continue to do the best we can for people living with allergy.
Jon Rodriguez, Operations Director
Jon joined Allergy UK in June 2022 and brings with him 23 years of fundraising experience (10 in senior roles) from a range of sources including Trusts and Foundations, Major Donor, Community, Event, Corporate and Statutory fundraising.
Jon’s specific areas of expertise include Communications and Marketing, as well as New Business and Account Management. Jon has experience in developing and maintaining productive relationships with Third Sector funders, regulatory and statutory bodies, as well as influencers and opinion formers.
Jon initially joined Allergy UK as Head of Fundraising, before taking the step up to the Interim Head of Supporter Services role. Then in May 2024, Jon was promoted to the post of Operations Director.
Hunish Sembhi, Head of Endorsements
Hunish holds a Bachelors of Biomedical Sciences and a background in Pharmaceutical Sales. She leads Allergy UK’s Endorsements Team which is responsible for endorsing, testing and identifying products which are designed to deliver benefits to the allergic community worldwide. She is driven to use her scientific expertise to benefit organisations with strong social purposes and is passionate about finding product solutions which help improve the quality of life for people around the globe who live with allergic conditions.
Amena Warner, Head of Clinical Services
Amena was a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Immunology and Allergy at an NHS Hospital Trust before joining Allergy UK. She trained at University College Hospital, followed by paediatric training at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. She also holds a Public Health and Specialist Practice in School Nursing qualification. Visiting schools and carrying out health assessments made Amena very aware of the rising incidence of allergy in the UK and this was instrumental in developing her interest in the field.
Amena is a member of the College of Nursing Immunology & Allergy Nurses group and is the first nurse to sit on the British Society of Allergy & Clinical Immunology (BSACI) council where she started the National Nurses in Allergy Group.
Paul Turnbull, Finance Business Manager
Paul has over 30 years of finance experience with most of the last ten having been spent working in Not-for-Profit (NFP) organisations. Prior to this he has worked in a range of sectors including government, accounting practice and commercial entities.
Paul recognises the need for continuous improvement in all fields especially cost effectiveness and reporting and looks to use his considerable accumulated knowledge and experience to ensure this is carried out effectively.