John Grounds
John is a consultant specialising in strategy, brand, communications, campaigning and fundraising, alongside organisational, team and personal development. He has worked with leaders, teams and stakeholders in more than 75 organisations in his 12 years as a consultant, including Humanimal Trust.
Before moving into consultancy, John spent nearly 30 years in senior roles at leading charities including NSPCC, RSPCA, Action Medical Research and Barnardo’s, as well as ethical retailer The Body Shop.
He is a mentor for the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) and CharityComms; former non-executive chair of Forster Communications and chair of trustees for CharityComms. He is a past member of the Cabinet Office Communications Strategy and Evaluation Council and board member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (CEOP) and UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS).
In 2025 he was appointed visiting fellow at the Henley Business School, University of Reading.
John said: “It’s a tremendous honour to be invited to join the Board of Humanimal Trust. This is not just an organisation with an urgent and inspirational vision – a world where humans and animals benefit equitably from medical progress, but not at the expense of an animal’s life – but also a remarkable and talented team of staff, volunteers, trustees and supporters, whose commitment to the Trust is humbling.
“As someone who has been an adviser, volunteer and supporter of the Trust for many years – and a proud signatory of the One Medicine Pledge – I hope my input and experience will help the Trust to progress still further towards its ultimate goal of a One Medicine world.”
Professor Philippe Wilson
Professor Philippe Wilson is a Franco-British healthcare scientist, author, speaker and entrepreneur whose research spans human, animal and environmental health under the One Health umbrella. He has held senior academic roles at De Montfort University,
Nottingham Trent University and most recently as Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Innovation at York St John University.
His interdisciplinary research programme integrates analytical chemistry, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), computational models and translational diagnostics. He has held leadership roles in university innovation and clinical research operations, including Chief Scientific Officer within NHS primary care. He is a fellow at the Linnean Society of London, the Royal Society of Biology and the Royal Society of Medicine, where he is president of the Comparative Medicine Council.
His work has been funded by organisations such as Cancer Research UK, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Medical Research Council, Innovate UK and the Royal Society. He is lead editor for Springer-Nature Journals Dairy Science and Management and Poultry Science and Management.
He is currently Executive Chairman of HH Global Holdings Ltd, focusing on scaling multidisciplinary ventures across health, biotechnology and technology. He has co-founded several start-ups, including a central London COVID-19 testing laboratory and antimicrobial lighting and biotechnology ventures. He has also served as Non-Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer across health technology and life-science companies.
Philippe has spoken internationally, was named in Forbes “30 Under 30” (Healthcare & Medicine, 2018), received the Royal Society of Chemistry Joseph Black Medal (2019) and serves on UK Government expert advisory committees.
Philippe said: “It is a privilege to join the Board of Humanimal Trust at such a remarkable time in its growth. The Trust’s mandate is essential to developing a coherent and equitable future for medicine across species, and I look forward to contributing significantly to its activities in the years ahead.”
CEO of Humanimal Trust, Joe Bailey, said: “We are delighted to welcome John and Philippe to our Board of Trustees. They each bring exceptional experience across strategy, governance, research and innovation, and share our commitment to advancing One Medicine. Their insight and leadership will help Humanimal Trust accelerate progress towards a future where human and animal health benefit together.”