After a tenure of nearly five years, CEO Graham Hodgkin has left London’s Air Ambulance and started a new role at Wavelength – a leadership and networking organisation which issued a very complimentary welcoming press release. Prior to joining LAA, Hodgkin completed over ten years with Deutsche Bank. His LinkedIn profile shows he left the bank in March 2011, and immediately founded Signpost Advisors Ltd, an executive coaching and leadership consultancy, which continues to run to this day.

Later that year, he joined LAA in November 2011 as CEO, leading the organisation in stepping up fundraising to new levels. This period included the addition of a second MD Explorer to ensure maintenance downtime on the first helicopter was adequately resourced, plus providing backup for busy periods.

The CEO role at LAA was being advertised by resourcing company Odgers Berndtson with pay listed as “Competitive Salary”, but closed on Friday 30th September and has been taken off their website.  This would suggest an announcement of a new CEO in the next few weeks, assuming the recruitment process goes to plan.

Hodgkin is believed to have been one of highest paid CEOs in the British air ambulance business, with the LAA accounts showing one salary of over £120,000 in the years to March 2014 and 2105.  Two other British air ambulance charities also have CEOs paid at this rate, and it is feasible that there are more whose salary is made through service companies.  This latter option gives rise to different disclosure requirements in certain circumstances, and may effectively “hide” the CEO’s salary level from public scrutiny.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com