Louise Stead qualified as a registered nurse in 1988. She had a varied clinical career across many specialities in a number of London teaching hospitals before moving to the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. She has an MSc in Professional Practice (Leadership and Management) and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey.

In 2018, Louise was appointed as Chief Executive of RSFT. Prior to this she was deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director of Nursing where she was pivotal to the Trust achieving a ‘good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission in 2018. Louise has since become a specialist advisor to the Care Quality Commission and has participated in carrying out well led reviews at other NHS Trusts.

Louise chairs the Surrey and Sussex Cancer Alliance and National Cancer Alliance Leadership Forum. She is a Provider Partner Member of the NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board and chair of the Surrey Heartlands Provider Collaborative Board.

In 2023, Louise was included in the HSJ top 50 list of pre-eminent NHS Trust leaders and was ranked 13 out of 219 NHS Trust chief executives by judges across the health and social care profession. Louise is passionate about putting the patient at the heart of every discussion and the effect that good leadership has on clinical outcomes.