Team

Arden spent 12 years working with private equity businesses helping them build best-in-class executive teams, manage company restructures, accelerate growth and prepare management buyout deals. Arden’s dad (also called Arden) is a psychiatrist, which opened his eyes to acute mental health care from a young age. After witnessing a close friend being sectioned first-hand, he founded Thalamos to improve the process and outcome for those in crisis.

Ross previously spent three years investigating for the Financial Ombudsman Service. He has a keen eye for detail and the ability to deliver ideas from inception through to completion. Ross’ desire to improve the lives of those around him led him to co-found Thalamos with Arden.

Dr Lia Ali is Thalamos’ Chief Safety Officer (CSO) and also sits on the Thalamos Steering Group.

Lia is a dual trained old age and general adult liaison accredited consultant psychiatrist and digital health strategist with extensive experience across the spectrum of digital healthcare. Passionate about ethics and safety by design, patient centred care and long term conditions including mental health and have particular interests in integrated care, medical education and digital health. Lia has extensive experience of service design (adopting a holistic biopsychosocial approach) & transformation roles in the NHS, charities & for-profit sector optimising the latest technology to deliver exemplary healthcare.

Lia is a fellow of the Faculty for Clinical Informatics and has served on a number of national panels and expert reference groups. She is currently a clinical advisor to the Innovation Team at NHSx working on multiple areas of digital transformation nationally across health and social care.  Lia is also Clinical & Strategy Advisor to Akrivia (AI in the mental health EHR) and tutor’s at Kings College London for the IMPARTS programme (Integrating Mental & Physical Health Research Training & Service). Previously she has blogged for @thementalelf and have been part of the BBC BAME Expert Voices programme.

Iain is a ST5 Specialist Registrar working in on the acute inpatient wards in Buckinghamshire. Prior to this; Iain worked in East London with a crisis team assessing those most at risk in the community. Iain is also an executive of the Royal College of Psychiatrist’s Private and Independent Specialist Interest Group and is a Fellow of Medical Education at the University of Oxford.

Iain has experienced first-hand the complexities and digital challenges associated with front-line mental healthcare and this led to his involvement with Thalamos. From issues with the existing paper-based process through to the lack of effective communication channels and the complexities of trust boundaries; Iain has a deep understanding of the situation on the ground.

Steve has extensive personal experiences of mental illness, including periods of depression, suicide attempts, and hospitalisation. He has a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and Complex PTSD- the result of psychological abuse in his early years through to adulthood.

Appointed as a Vice Chair for the Independent Mental Health Act Review led by Sir Simon Wesley, supporting the chair in making recommendations to the Government. Steve chaired the Service User and Carer group, and co-chaired the black African Caribbean working group. In 2019 Steve was recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours List and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Mental Health.

With Thalamos, Steve supports the Team to ensure we maintain a patient centric approach to development.

Dr Debbie Martin is Director of the Bournemouth University, South West England Approved Mental Health Professional’s/BIA course, and an independent trainer. Debbie provides training for many local authorities and trusts, and for s12 approved doctors and Approved Clinicians in the South West, Midlands and Wales. Debbie is co-author with Paul Barber and Rob Brown of Mental Health Law in England and Wales, 3rd Ed (2017), and The Mental Capacity Act 2015, A Guide for Practice, 3rd Ed (2015), published by Sage/Learning Matters.

Debbie is a registered social worker and has previously worked as an Approved Social Worker (now the AMHP role) and has managed services for those with mental disorder. She supports Thalamos with advice on best practice as well as guidance on the legislative evolution of its application.

James has a passion for IT and Healthcare and combines the two in his role as Chief Clinical Information Officer of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. James is also a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and his vast experience implementing technology in health settings, in addition to his years as a practicing consultant, provides invaluable insight and a 360 degree view of mental healthcare.

Dominique was appointed to her role as Chief Operating Officer of Sodexo’s home care services in September 2020 having worked at The Good Care Group (TGCG) for the past 11 years. She joined TGCG team as Director of Operations and was appointed to Managing Director in April 2019 when it was acquired by Sodexo. The Good Care Group is a fast-growing provider of live in care services enabling older people to stay in their own homes and communities and is proud to have achieved an Outstanding Care Quality Commission (CQC) rating in all five categories. Prior to that she held positions with Sunrise Senior Living and Sainsbury’s. Dominique now leads The Good Care Group, Oxford Aunts, Prestige Nursing and Care and Elite brands within Sodexo’s home care portfolio.

Guy works as an NHS Community Consultant Psychiatrist for Southern Health Foundation NHS Trust and is a lead tutor in undergraduate psychiatry at the University of Southampton. His special interest lies in Occupational Psychiatry and believes in the importance of a recovery focus. Guy is the Chair of the Thalamos Steering Group as well as being an investor and advisor.

After helping BUPA International achieve significant growth, Alistair led several investor-backed mental healthcare organisations, from secure hospitals and care homes through to active pathway management with Eden Futures. Alistair is advising Thalamos on a range of areas and in particular assists in creating governance structures.

Daniel has over 20 years of experience leading projects and building software primarily within start ups. He has experience in several industries including business services, technology and financial services. More recently Daniel has shifted his focus to deploying his skills in health technology and, in particular, mental healthcare.

Daniel was brought on board to help Thalamos accelerate its product development and help support the additional needs of the NHS and its new adapted ways of working due to the effects of Covid-19.

Chris is the Executive Chairman of VivoPlex, who create advanced miniaturised biometric sensors. Chris is a medically trained doctor and grew and sold one of the UK’s leading medical software companies, serving GPs. His particular interest in mental healthcare software saw him join Thalamos as the first member of the Advisory Board.

Carl’s career in technology has seen him involved in the early stages of Skype, the development of Microsoft and the conceiving, launching and scaling of new products for Twilio. He has recently joined Zoopla, leading product development for their SaaS business as it looks to scale even further. Carl brings this wealth of technical and product experience to the Thalamos Advisory Board to assist in navigating the applied technical challenges that exist in software creation.