#39 The humble and intelligent charity leader Lea Milligan CEO of MQ Mental Health Research

Lea Milligan, CEO of MQ Mental Health Research, joined Purposely Podcast to share his story. Lea talks about being appointed CEO during the first COVID-19 UK lockdown, this without the opportunity to meet his Board of Trustees or his team. In fact he still hasn’t met them in person although you will hear how this has him stopped him setting a new and exciting path for the organisation including a new strategy and a new office in New York. Lea, a parent of two young children admits ‘home education looked more like home entertainment in my house during lock-down’. He also draws on the inspiration gets from the Irish and Lion’s rugby international Brian O’Driscoll citing how his hard work, dedication and committment to rugby (his craft) set him apart and made him a world leading player. Lea says ‘it’s all about making the very best of your talents’ and that is something he try’s to do himself. Lea is described as a passionate communicator and collaborator and advocates for a whole mind, body and brain approach to mental health research. His current role sounds like a great fit. He has worked in the charity sector for over 15 years, leading teams and organisations supporting people in the secure estate, community education and prior to joining MQ, served for as the CEO of Mercy Ships UK, an international NGO delivering surgery, medical capacity building and infrastructure development across West Africa. He has overseen multimillion pound fundraising and grants programmes supported by philanthropy and a range of government funding. Notable achievements include launching the Global Surgical Evaluation Centre in partnership with Harvard University, public fundraising campaigns in partnership with the Department for International Development and the publication of a British Medical Journal surgical supplement in support of the Lancet Commission’s findings on the global surgical crisis. https://www.mqmentalhealth.org/home/