Meet our team

Richard has extensive experience of senior leadership roles across a range of sectors and businesses, including a number of years working at board level in healthcare. As the CEO of SpaMedica, Richard has responsibility for overseeing every aspect of the business, making sure our day-to-day operations run smoothly and helping to set the long-term plans and goals for our future. He is responsible for our growth, our culture and – most importantly – for ensuring that we deliver the best quality care and excellent outcomes for our patients.

Dr Alex Silvester MBChB (hons) MSc MBA CMgr FCMI is an Ophthalmologist and Medical Director at SpaMedica. Alex has an interest in epidemiology and big data and is a member of the Vision Loss Expert Group which provides global technical leadership in the development of epidemiological estimates for blindness and visual impairment.

Alex has published papers in high impact journals including the Lancet, the British Medical Journal and the British Journal of Ophthalmology. His work on reducing topical antibiotics following routine cataract surgery was shortlisted for a Public Health England Antibiotic Guardian award. He regularly presents at international conferences on improving cataract surgery outcomes, risk stratification, and clinical governance, most recently at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons and the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Alex is a member of the Veonet International Medical Board.

Jamie has over 25 years senior management experience in both field-based and Head Office positions in the healthcare and hospitality sectors, including Head of L&D for McDonald’s UK, and Head of Static Operations for Alliance Medical.

Jamie’s passion lies in strategic planning, team development, and operational excellence. He is responsible for quality assurance across all SpaMedica hospitals, ensuring the highest standards of patient care, safety, and outcomes. Additionally, Jamie collaborates with the Operations Team to maintain consistency in delivering exceptional care.

Lisa joins SpaMedica from Diaverum, where – as Managing Director for the UK and Sweden – she was instrumental in enhancing patient outcomes and experiences across a network of treatment centres. With an extensive global career spanning multiple industries and sectors, Lisa has held several leadership roles, and her experience in driving growth and innovation will be invaluable as SpaMedica continues its mission to provide high-quality eye care to as many patients as possible.

Joanne brings with her 25 years’ worth of People, Operations and Leadership experience at director level within a number of very large national companies, such as Tesco, Asda and – most recently – the Vet Group side of Pets at Home.

As the Chief People Officer, Joanne is responsible for developing the People Strategy for SpaMedica, ensuring that the business continues to provide world-class service and standards of care for our patients.

Furthermore, Joanne looks to further our approach to staff engagement, learning and development, and recruitment.

Martin brings to SpaMedica over 16 years’ experience in senior finance roles, with 4 years at MyTravel/Airtours plc as a Corporate Finance Executive and over 12 years with Great Rail Journeys Ltd as Chief Finance Officer.

As the CFO of SpaMedica, Martin leads the strategic and commercial financial functions that assist in the growth of the business. He also plays a key role in providing information systems that support business decisions and deliver critical and accurate data on a consistent and timely basis to our teams.

Professor Chris Purslow PhD, BSc (Hons), MCOptom, has over 35 years’ experience in eye care, across a wide range of settings including high street and hospital optometry, in senior roles within academia as a published academic and Professor, and in Medical Affairs within the ophthalmic pharmaceuticals industry.

Chris’s passion is supporting others to succeed and deliver excellent care. As Clinical Director of Outpatients at SpaMedica, Chris serves the clinical teams working in all our outpatient departments, using her vision and strategic thinking to ensure we continue to deliver outstanding ophthalmology services that support eye health across the nations.

Julian is a senior executive with significant experience within the healthcare industry spanning 14 years. Julian has worked for many of the top ten private healthcare providers and his experience in pathway development and NHS integration has resulted in many high-level contract awards. His commercial acumen has resulted in the successful sale, acquisition and merger of a number of hospitals.