Welcome To Emma, Our New CEO

Right to Left: Me, my daughter Hannah and Mum Jane

Hello Open Age Members!

I am excited and honoured to be joining your community as your new Chief Executive Officer. I am passionate about Open Age’s mission to help people who are over 50 live happier, healthier lives.

In my previous role as Executive Director at Guide Dogs, I led our Adults’ Services supporting people with vision impairment, 80% of whom are over 60, to live actively, independently and well. I am also a trustee of Diabetes UK and am committed to tackling health inequalities to ensure everyone can age well and live healthily for longer.

Outside of work, I am a West London local, Mum to three energetic children and I enjoy participating in weekly French and dance classes.

As I settle into my new role, I am particularly looking forward to meeting and getting to know you. As a local, I plan to spend as much time as possible in our centres and community venues, so please come and say hello. I want to hear your opinions on what you like at Open Age and what we could do differently or better in the future. I am keen to take part in some of our activities and have already tried out Zumba and Steady and Stable.

I see a bright future for our Open Age community. With new funding opportunities and upgraded member support systems, we will be able to offer you a greater variety of high-quality services. We know there are many more people across London and beyond who don’t have access to services like these, so I am also committed to increasing our reach and welcoming more people into this vibrant community.

Finally, I wanted to thank Iain Cassidy for leading Open Age from strength to strength over the past seven years and Deryn Bath for her leadership as acting CEO over the past six months.

I look forward to meeting you soon.

Emma Foulds