Professor David Croisdale Appleby OBE

Professor David Croisdale-Appleby OBE’s lifelong passion has been social justice. He is an inspirational, high-profile leader and strategic thinker, nationally and internationally. In 2025, he was named one of the UK’s Top 100 Influential People for his outstanding influence and impact on education as a lever for social justice. His 2026 award recognises his exceptional influence on the Charity and Voluntary sector, selfless commitment that again is entirely unpaid. His specialisms are dementia care, healthcare and social care. As Chair of Dementia UK he has transformed the charity, and his tireless work to create an exceptional corporate culture was recognised when it won The Sunday Times “Best Place to Work in the UK” (2025) in the Charity and Voluntary sector. His outstanding skills have been relied upon by government during the most turbulent of times at the Care Quality Commission. For the National Institute for Health and Care Research he is leading work to evaluate national innovations in health and social care, a vital mission to inform the UK’s strategic research priorities, ensure money is funnelled into the most promising areas and bring the benefits to patients more rapidly. He has chaired the Board of the International Business School at Durham University for a decade, taking it to be one of the top 1% of business schools globally. Until 2024 he was also the first lay chair of the Royal College of Physicians in its 500-year history.