Kids’ Village charity names Chamber director as permanent CEO  

Katrina Cooke has been appointed as the first permanent CEO for Kids’ Village – the ambitious charity which is aiming to build the UK’s first holiday village providing free breaks for children with critical illnesses. 

She joins Kids’ Village from the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC), where she has most recently held the role of chief commercial officer, having previously been the director of marketing and communications. 

Before the Chamber, Katrina (pictured) began her career at Aston Villa Football Club, where she held a number of roles in the marketing and communications department, with a focus on data analytics and customer insight. 

Kids’ Village, which has announced their first lodge has been secured by a generous six-figure donation from a local family trust, is aiming to raise £5m to build the UK’s first holiday village offering respite breaks to critically ill children and their families. 

The Village will feature 10 four-bedroom lodges that will provide a home during their stay as well as a central communal building. 

The project is the brainchild of Sam Fletcher-Goodwin, from Lichfield, who at the age of nine was diagnosed with a form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma. 

During that traumatic time, Sam and her family were able to experience the Give Kids The World Village resort in Florida. 

Katrina takes over the helm at Kids’ Village from former GBCC CEO Paul Faulkner, who has held the role of interim CEO since the charity’s relaunch in January. 

Together with chairman Doug Wright, Paul led the process to recruit a permanent CEO. Paul will continue to work with Kids’ Village over the summer as he hands over to Katrina, and will then look to take up an ongoing trustee position. 

Doug said: “Kat has a wonderful track record of delivering projects and was the standout candidate through our recruitment process. 

“She has all the attributes to lead Kids’ Village into our next phase and to ultimately bring the Fletchers’ dream of creating this much needed facility to fruition.” 

Katrina said: “The charity is inspired by founder Sam Fletcher’s own experience with childhood cancer, and the Fletcher family and Kids’ Village chairman Doug Wright have my full commitment to making Kids’ Village a reality and to provide holidays for sick children and their families. 

“Paul Faulkner has done a phenomenal job in his role as interim CEO in the last six months.” 

Sam said: “I’m so excited about Kat’s appointment at Kids’ Village, she brings great energy, experience, ideas and balance to the team.” 

Paul said: “Katrina is an outstanding individual who I have had the pleasure of working with at both Aston Villa and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, where she played an instrumental role in commercial growth and developments. 

“I have seen her grow professionally and have no doubt that she will do an outstanding job as she steps into this CEO role.” 

Henrietta Brealey, CEO of the GBCC, said: “It has been an absolute privilege working with Kat for the last eight and a half years. 

“While Kat’s role has evolved and grown significantly in that time, throughout, she has consistently demonstrated her drive, commitment and focus on quality as well skills at building brilliant teams.

“I’m delighted that this is a “see you later” and not a “goodbye” as I look forward to working closely with Kat in her new role as CEO of Kids Village, highly active members of the Chamber.

"Kids Village are an incredible charity at a very exciting phase of their journey. I’m delighted for Kat and Kids Village at this appointment.”