TWO notable south Warwickshire names have been honoured in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Glen Burley, chief executive of South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, has been knighted in recognition of his contribution to NHS leadership and his recent national role as NHS England deputy chief executive.
And the Barford-born footballer Jess Carter was awarded an MBE in recognition of her contribution to football and her role in helping advance the women’s game in England and around the world.
Glen started his career in the NHS as a finance trainee in 1983 and now oversees three acute and community NHS trusts – collectively known as the ‘Foundation Group’.
He leads the SWFT Foundation Group, which includes Warwick, Stratford and Shipston hospitals, together with the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in north Warwickshire, and the Wye Valley NHS Trust, which includes Worcester and Hereford hospitals.
He has transformed the fortunes of SWFT over the past 20 years. When he joined as chief executive in 2006, the trust was in a dire financial position. Now it boasts a first class reputation both locally and nationally.
Glen and his team have turned the trust’s finances around. The trust also attained Foundation Trust status in 2010 and achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission in 2019.
Glen strongly believes that happy and motivated staff provide the very best care to patients and therefore the organisations he leads place great emphasis on staff engagement and wellbeing. This is demonstrated by all three trusts making significant improvements in the national NHS staff survey during his tenure.
Jess played for Warwick Juniors as a child before she signed with Birmingham City’s Centre of Excellence at the age of 16. She joined Chelsea in 2018, and now plays Stateside for New York-based Gotham FC.
The defender made her international debut for England’s Lionesses in 2019.
She was a member of the squad which won the Euros in 2022 and 2025, and was a regular starter in the team which reached the World Cup Final in 2023.
“It’s amazing to be recognised,”Jess told the BBC. “I’ve seen it with a lot of my Lioness teammates, who’ve done incredible in the sport and continue to raise awareness of women’s football, and sports for everybody really, so it’s an honor to be part of that list.”
Jess was one of six Lionesses named an MBE following England’s Euro triumph last summer.
