CEO retires from East Anglian Air Ambulance

EAAA’s Director of Operations Matthew Jones has been appointed as Patrick’s successor and will take the reins at the end of June. 

Patrick played an integral part in setting up the life-saving charity just over 20 years ago, led the charity as a former Trustee for some 11 years and has been the charity’s CEO since 2014. In that time, the charity has undergone a huge transformation and growth period in terms of fundraising income, operational achievements and becoming a top-rated local employer.

During Patrick Peal’s tenure, the service has expanded to cover 24 hours a day every day of the year. To date, this has involved flying by day and by night, with the middle of the night covered by rapid response vehicles. His final act at EAAA in the summer will be extending the flying service 24/7.   

An exciting new era of 24/7 helicopter operations

The charity being a cause very close to his heart, Patrick said: “Being CEO of East Anglian Air Ambulance is the best job I’ve ever had, but all good things must come to an end eventually. The charity is approaching an exciting new era of 24/7 helicopter operations and now is the right time for me personally to step back and let someone else lead EAAA into what I’m sure will be a very exciting future.”

Patrick has lived and worked in Norfolk most of his life and has long been passionate about the need for an air ambulance service in the county. In 1996 he was part of initial conversations about setting up an air ambulance service in Norfolk and was instrumental in the charity’s official creation in September 2000. Patrick has held various board positions within the charity over the years and took up the CEO role in 2014. Prior to that he was Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees at EAAA and Owner and Director of Tribe PR. In 2019, Patrick won Third Sector Director of the Year at the Institute of Directors East of England awards for his accomplishments at EAAA.

Making a difference to the type of service the charity provides

Matthew Jones, Director of Operations, who will replace Patrick as CEO, added: “It’s a huge honor to be offered the opportunity to lead this fantastic organization into the future and I will do my very best to carry on the remarkable work that Patrick has started. Patrick has been an enormous part of getting this charity to where it is today, and it is extremely humbling to be entrusted with this role. My first focus will be on implementing 24/7 operations from our new base in Norwich, a long-term goal of the charity’s which will make a huge difference to the type of service we’re able to provide at night.”