HENRY is delighted to announce the appointment of Beckie Lang as our new Chief Executive. Beckie will take up the role in July 2024, replacing Kim Roberts, who is retiring after 12 successful years with the charity.

Beckie is currently Director of Network Impact at leading family support charity, Home-Start UK, where she leads the strategic development of support for the 180 local, independent charities that make up the Home-Start network. Beckie has provided leadership and challenge to enable greater impact for more families across the UK.

Previously, Beckie was Chief Executive at the Parent-Infant Foundation, supporting the growth of specialist parent-infant relationship teams across the UK and ensuring babies and young children were represented in policy making through the re-establishment of the First 1001 Days Movement. Beckie, a parent of three herself, is a public health nutritionist with a career spanning nutrition research and communications, service development and delivery, with over a decade in the pregnancy and early years charity sector.

As she looks forward to taking up her new role, Beckie says:

“Since being trained in the HENRY programme a decade ago, I have been an ambassador. I am passionate about all babies and children getting the best start in life, and that needs whole family support to make positive lifestyle changes. I have watched HENRY grow from strength to strength, building its evidence base, demonstrating its impact, and ultimately increasing its reach. HENRY brings together my love of early life nutrition and public health with my belief in the value of relationships in enabling children and families to thrive. I am thrilled to be leading the next phase of the HENRY journey with the staff and trustee team."

Sam Olsen, Chair of HENRY, said,

“I am delighted that Beckie is joining us as HENRY’s next Chief Executive to continue the life-changing work that Kim and the team have achieved over the last 12 years. Beckie's specialist and leadership experience, as well as her passion and values, make her an outstanding fit for HENRY - championing families at the start of life so that all children get the start in life they deserve.”

HENRY supports the whole family in making positive lifestyle changes, creating healthier and happier family relationships and home environments, and building healthier communities from the start.

HENRY is the UK’s leading healthy start provider. We offer a range of flexible family support and practitioner training services that support all aspects of child development. This holistic approach and our commitment to quality has led to commissions from more than 70 local authorities and Health Boards across every UK nation. Our Healthy Families programmes support families from conception to age 12 and have the strongest evidence base of any such UK programme.