Leaving well: navigating life after a CEO role

Susan Daniels has been Chief Executive of the National Deaf Children's Society since 1992, and has seen the charity grow from an income of £1 million in 1992 to over £22 million in 2017/2018. Susan will be stepping down from this role in July 2025. Before joining the National Deaf Children's Society, Susan was Head of Education, Employment and Training and then Head of Policy and Research at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, (now Action on Hearing Loss). In 2006, she was awarded an OBE for services to deaf children and their families.

Susan was a Commissioner of the Disability Rights Commission from 2003 until its merger with the Commission for Equality and Human Rights at the end of September 2007. Until November 2010 she was Chair of the UK Council on Deafness, the umbrella body for all organisations working in the field of deafness, which provides information, advice and support to member organisations and represents the views of the sector to government and policy makers.

Susan is currently Chair of the NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme Quality Assurance Advisory Group, which monitors the delivery of the programme across hospitals in England. Susan is Chair of Groundbreakers, an informal networking group for women leaders in the voluntary sector, which includes chief executives from organisations which range in profile from large national and international to smaller local and community based. Susan is also a member of the BBC Appeals Advisory Committee which is responsible for all policy matters relating to all BBC related charity appeals, the overview of specific fund-raising projects such as Children in Need, Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day etc. and the allocation of broadcasting time for individual charity appeals on BBC channels.

Angela has extensive experience of leadership and management and is currently a consultant, trustee, and volunteer. She is involved in a number of initiatives supporting young people. Previously CEO of Girlguiding; CEO of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation; Director of VSO UK; and Head of Nations and Regions at the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. She started her professional life as a teacher and went on to a number of senior roles in the public and private sectors.