Meet Our Executive Leadership Team

Richard Lee MBE CStJ QAM FIMC FCPara
Chief Executive Officer

Richard joined St John Ambulance Cymru as Chief Executive Officer at the beginning of May 2024, following a 5-year period as the Chief Operating Officer at St John Ambulance in England. His efforts in this role resulted in him being awarded an MBE for services to healthcare during Covid-19 in the 2021 New Year’s Honours List. He was also awarded the Queens Ambulance Medal for distinguished ambulance service in the 2016 Queen's Birthday honours list.

Originally from South London, but having spent his teenage years in North Wales, he is a Paramedic and also brings with him previous experience as Director of Operations at the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust. He also saw active service in the Royal Air Force during the Gulf War in 1991 and the UN operations in Bosnia in 1993. As well as volunteering for St John Ambulance in England during his time there, he also volunteers for MEDSERVE Wales, a branch of the British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS) charity.

Benjamin Savage
Chief Operating Officer

Benjamin joined our senior management team as Chief Operating Officer in June 2021.

Arriving from St John Ambulance in England, where he first joined as a volunteer, he held the role of Head of Planning and Programmes for Event Planning, having previously been in position as their Ambulance Operations Manager for Greater Manchester.

Having led and implemented major improvement programmes in his previous roles, and working and volunteering on the front line across the pandemic, Benjamin’s passion for patient care and enhancing community services has been a constant throughout his career.

Angela Overment
Director of People, Culture and Experience

Angela joined St John Ambulance Cymru in March 2024. With 20 year of experience in both operational and strategic people roles within the Welsh third sector, Angela brings a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to our mission. 

A Chartered member of the CIPD, Angela’s approach is driven by values. Throughout her career she has been instrumental in building and modernising people practices, ensuring that both organisations and those within them can thrive.

Angela’s contributions have consistently led to positive changes within the organizations she has been part of and have been acknowledged through accreditation with external quality standards and a number of awards from HR networks and the CIPD.

Carl Lane Dip(HE), MSc, MIoL, MCPara
Clinical Director

Carl joined St John Ambulance Cymru in 1995 as a Cadet in Cardiff, working his way through the organisation in various roles and ranks until he became a Paramedic in 2012. He left St John in 2014 to pursue a career in the NHS, returning in 2024 as the National Paramedic Officer. Carl also served in the Royal Air Force for 7 years as a Medic and worked in various countries around the world both on land, sea and air. 

He has worked in the NHS all over the UK and in many sectors including Pre-Hospital, Primary Care, Urgent and Emergency Care and the 111 Service. He has also managed two Minor Injuries Units in Gloucestershire, the 111 service in Bristol and London, as well as a COVID Assessment & Vaccination Service in NHS Orkney.

He is now an Advanced Practitioner and an Independent Prescriber and work as an NHS Health Board Manager.

Lewis Bowman
Director of Finance and Resources

Richard J Paskell MBE CStJ
Chief Commissioner

Richard joined St John Ambulance Cymru initially as a Trustee in 2017. He was successfully appointed to the role of Chief Commissioner in 2020.

Since then he has led on the modernisation of St John Ambulance Cymru volunteer structures and is a proactive, visible uniformed leader of our volunteers. He is passionate about volunteering, something he has done for over thirty years with various Charities. In 2022, he was appointed to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, by the late HM Queen Elizabeth, for services to Mountain Rescue and to the communities in South Wales.

Richard’s full time job is with South Wales Police.