Shailen Rao Managing Director

As the founding partner of Soar Beyond, Shailen has more than 30 years of experience working in, and with, the NHS. He has a passion for helping the NHS make the most out of their investment in medicines.

Shailen is a respected and trusted thought-leader and innovator in the field of medicines management and has always been a strong advocate of working in partnership and collaboration with industry.

Before this, Shailen worked as a pharmacist and as Head of Medicines Management and Diabetes Lead for Hillingdon PCT.

Shailen leads an active and colourful LinkedIn group with over 2,000 NHS Payers and industry members keen to understand and debate various policies that affect commissioning better outcomes for patients.

Shailen is a Trustee at the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamstead, Shailen was appointed this position to apply his background and expertise in medicines, healthcare delivery and service redesign to further the fantastic work of this Hospice. Shailen will be focusing, in particular,on the Clinical Governance and Income Generation committee work

Shailen is passionate about self-development and is always striving to challenge Soar Beyond and its customers to reach above and beyond their known limits.

Tiba Rao Director of Innovation

Tiba heads up both the market access and the training services for Soar Beyond including the i2i Network for practice pharmacists.

Change management is, however, Tiba’s passion – both supporting the NHS and our industry partners to do this effectively at an individual and/or organisational level.

Tiba was previously a Change Management Consultant for Accenture where she successfully project-managed the first national programme for IT implementation into the ambulance service.

Prior to this, Tiba spent seven years with Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals and has a cross-section of customer-facing experience in sales, NHS liaison, project management and training. Tiba was among the first-ever secondments from a pharmaceutical company to the NHS and therefore understands the need to work in an innovative and B2B relationship with the NHS and industry.

Tiba works closely with our customers to identify their needs and develop unique solutions to meet them.  Being the favourite part of her role, this is where many of the Soar Beyond innovative services and methodologies come from.

Anjna Sharma Director of Workforce Transformation

Since joining Soar Beyond in 2009 as a practice pharmacist, Anjna has developed in a variety of roles with her expertise of deployment of pharmacist-led services.

Anjna now leads the internal and NHS workforce transformation services; these programmes and services can range from complex ICS-level Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments, industry-funded therapy review programmes, and SMART deployment at organisational level.

Anjna is an established and core member of the Soar Beyond leadership teams and her main focus and strengths revolve around supporting our NHS partners to implement effective and sustainable change at organisational level.

Kajal Mistry Associate Director

Kajal leads and supports the overall design, deployment and management of a range of services provided by Soar Beyond to the NHS and Pharmaceutical Industry. She has a particular passion for ensuring services realise their benefits to patients in the leanest and most efficient way.

Kajal started her career as a community pharmacist and soon found her passion in developing scalable services to deliver positive change for patients and the wider healthcare system.

Prior to joining Soar Beyond, Kajal spent 8 years with McKesson (parent company for LloydsPharmacy, PSS and Optimed Healthcare) where she gained a wealth of experience in developing and mobilising primary, secondary care and integrated services. She has led on a number of successful projects during this time including the mobilisation of the LloydsPharmacy Flu vaccination and Travel Health services, as well as leading the pathway design of the first LloydsPharmacy Healthcare Centre in collaboration with their homecare division and a NHS trust. More recently, Kajal has been supporting GP practices, pharmacists, primary care networks in design and delivery of NHS and Pharmaceutical Industry funded services. This experience combined with the understanding of the NHS, ensures our services are of the highest standard for our NHS and Industry partners.

Andrew Sutherland Associate Director of Market Access

Andrew’s role is to lead the operationalisation and management of Soar Beyond consultancy services to the Pharmaceutical Industry, working closely with the Managing Director. Keeping abreast of changes within the NHS and working closely with customers, Andrew will ensure that Soar Beyond’s Industry focused offerings are timely, relevant, and delivered to the highest standards.

Andrew has a wealth of experience within the Pharmaceutical Industry, starting as a sales representative in the 1990s and subsequently moving on to sales management, marketing, and market access positions within a number of different companies. Consequently, Andrew understands industry processes and requirements as well as numerous therapy areas including cardiovascular, dermatology, female healthcare, psychiatry, and pain management. Andrew has also undertaken training as a non-medical final signatory and brings his ABPI understanding to all Soar Beyond projects and services.

Andrew’s key passions are improving project efficiency and collaborative working and he has been involved in setting up numerous successful NHS / Industry partnership projects as well as a track record in streamlining internal services to achieve better turnaround times for projects with increased compliance.

Anna Prescott Associate Director

Anna supports the development and execution of our pharmacist services, specifically our SMART programme and medicines optimisation projects. She also manages our clinical pharmacist team, working across nine GP practices in north west London as part of the NHS England clinical pharmacy pilot.

Anna has over 10 years post-graduate pharmacy experience – predominantly as a hospital pharmacist, where she held both operational and clinical roles. She made the transition to primary care as a prescribing advisor in south west London in 2014, sparking her passion for really growing and shaping the role of pharmacists in this ever-changing and high-pressured environment.

Whilst at the CCG, Anna completed both her independent prescribing qualification and became a PRINCE2 practitioner. These have both proven invaluable to the many projects she works on, and where she continually delivers to a high standard.

Benjamin Hunt Operations Director

Ben is an Operations Manager with a wealth of experience in delivering multiple complex projects across a range of platforms. With over 20 years spent in the production of corporate events and live communications, he has developed a keen eye for process improvement and an obsessive attention to detail.

A natural fixer, he has run across London with HRH’s Jimmy Choo to make it to a late-night cobbler, arranged a kidnap by former SAS soldiers of a client’s CEO and escalated a row with customs officials to the head of the Chilean Navy – all to make the project happen.

Ben joins us at the start of 2022 to help us get ready for the next period of rapid growth, ensuring exceptional quality and seamless service delivery throughout.

Thomas Bowles Operations Director

With a proven history of delivering business change in private sector healthcare provision, Tom is well-placed to support internal and external operations as Soar Beyond embarks on our next period of growth and expansion.

Prior to joining Soar Beyond Tom launched a new ‘Uber’ style booking system to allow hospitals to book ambulances quicker and clear wards more effectively & worked across the world covering F1 for an international broadcaster.

Tom joined Soar Beyond in April and is excited to drive the growth and development of the company forward.

Shivangee Maurya Clinical Services Pharmacist

Shiv supports the development and execution of services provided by Soar Beyond, including the SMART and i2i network. She is responsible for the creation of clinical resources and tools for clinical pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.

Shiv started her career at Boots Pharmacy. A key highlight was the successful implementation and rollout of a local project which resulted in a national rollout for the Meningitis B service. Following this, she was awarded “Pharmacist of the Year” at the Boots awards for the local area. After completion of her Independent Prescribing qualification in Type 2 Diabetes, she moved into a clinical role as a Medicines Optimisation Care Homes Pharmacist. Here, she found her passion for delivering advice, education, and training for healthcare professionals and care home staff as well as an interest in setting up and running projects. This led her to take on the role of a PCN Pharmacist and then a Lead PCN Pharmacist. She led on several successful projects including the mobilisation of the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic, and the design, development, and mobilisation of a central prescription service for the PCN, alongside managing a team of pharmacists and delivering the PCN DES.

Shiv has a keen interest in launching new services which utilise pharmacists’ skillset to improve patient outcomes.

Riad Choudhury Clinical Services Pharmacist

Riad supports the Soar Beyond business at a clinical and project management level. He develops and delivers written resources, e-Learning, and service tools for our NHS and pharmaceutical industry commissioned services such as i2i Network and SMART.

Riad began his career in community pharmacy and soon took on a more clinical role working at Interface Clinical Services. There, Riad delivered long-term condition reviews and clinical audits as a clinical pharmacist in primary care, before assuming the role of regional lead pharmacist. He was responsible for 12 clinical pharmacists who he trained and developed clinically and ensured service delivery standards and operational excellence were maintained across his region. His role involved ensuring compliance with industry regulatory standards and the ABPI code of conduct, in which Riad is fully trained and qualified. His most recent position was working for Bayer Pharmaceuticals, as a pharmacist territory manager and focused on educating and up-skilling PCN, practice-based, and CCG pharmacists on anticoagulation use in AF. He was the main point of contact clinically for the region and worked at a regional leadership level, ensuring that a scientifically clinical strategy was in place.

Riad is passionate about the well-being of patients. This, coupled with his thirst for science and its impact on the lives of many, attracted him to an endeavoring career in healthcare. Riad is driven by self-development and obtaining new skills and he is currently looking to obtain his PRINCE2 qualification.

Sukhpreet Rai Clinical Services Pharmacist

Sukhpreet supports the Soar Beyond business at a clinical and project management level. She develops and delivers written resources, e-learning, and service tools for our NHS and pharmaceutical industry commissioned services such as i2i Network and SMART.

Sukhpreet started her career as a hospital Pharmacist where she worked as an oncology Pharmacist in the aseptic unit, manufacturing and releasing chemotherapy and supportive medication. She then moved to McKesson UK (LloydsPharmacy) where she worked in the superintendent’s department. She was lead in developing clinical resources for the business-to-business contracts across the estate. This gave her in-depth knowledge of the governance framework and clinical articulation practice to enhance her writing abilities for key documents.

Sukhpreet is passionate about the well-being of patients. This, coupled with her attention to detail in writing goes hand in hand with quipping pharmacists with the knowledge needed to carry out their role competently and confidently.

Robyn Simpson Digital Clinical Writer

Robyn joined the Soar beyond team in July 2022 as a Digital Clinical Writer.

Robyn started her career in community pharmacy, gaining the Medicine Counter Assistant and Dispensing Assistant qualifications. After three years, she moved to McKesson UK initially working in the Superintendent’s department, supporting the business-to-business contracts in specialty pharmacy. This developed her abilities for writing and document design, and her knowledge of Clinical Governance.

After a year, Robyn started supporting wider areas of the business; including travel health and clinical homecare, working in collaboration with Medical and Governance teams on key clinical documents. This further developed her abilities and equipped her with a mixed skill set allowing her to support a variety of projects.

Robyn will be supporting the creation and accuracy of clinical content for our i2i programmes and supporting copy and content development across the business.

Ruth Booth Finance Manager

With over 30 years of finance experience in many different business environments, Ruth is instrumental in helping our finance department run smoothly and efficiently. She is highly skilled in numerous accounting and financial fields.

Having previously worked for both large multi-national corporations and SMEs, Ruth has significant knowledge and expertise in financial accounting and business planning.

Ruth’s friendly and positive nature, coupled with her meticulous attention to detail and exceptional organisation skills, makes her a valuable member of our team.

Imogen Toyer Project Manager

With a passion for supporting the delivery of high-quality projects and exceeding customer expectations, Imogen is an integral part of the Soar Beyond team.

Imogen joined Soar Beyond in 2016 and works across multiple areas of the business as a Project Manager, including pharmacist services, PNAs, events, operations and administrative support.

She graduated as a business student studying Hospitality Management at the University of Portsmouth, where she received a first-class honours degree. Imogen has also recently achieved her Prince 2 qualification.

Karen Taylor PA / Project Team Lead

Karen joined the Soar Beyond team in March 2020, bringing over 25 years’ experience from a wide variety of business sectors, including previously working within the pharmaceutical industry.

As well as being a key member of the project executive team, Karen also acts as Shailen’s PA.

Expertly blending her exceptional organisation and multi-tasking skills to work across the Pharma Consultancy division, she supports Shailen and the team in delivering high quality customer service to our clients. Whilst never hesitating to offer support and encouragement to the internal team, Karen is an integral part of the Soar Beyond family.

Siobhan Hall Senior Project Executive

Siobhan joined Soar Beyond in February 2020 as a project executive. She works across both i2i and SMART divisions in a variety of roles which shows off her flair for technical support, marketing and recently supporting with project management. She is excellent at liaising with clients to ensure their needs are not just met but exceeded.

Siobhan has a degree in photography which enables her creative approach to solving any and all problems – no challenge is too big or too small for Siobhan to take whilst she continues her search to be challenged and grow within her role.

Christina Wells Senior Project Executive

Christina joined Soar Beyond in Sept 2021 to support the team in delivering quality projects and operations.

As a qualified marketing professional Christina’s career has encompassed a variety of different commercial disciplines including Programme Management, Marketing, and Sales within both B2B and B2C market sectors for a range of companies from leading global organisations to newly acquired start-ups.

Christina’s collaborative approach has enabled her to work with cross-functional stakeholders to fulfill, execute and drive enhanced customer satisfaction.   With the revised submission date for Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA’s) to Oct 2021, Christina will be supporting the team to deliver fit for purpose PNAs to time and budget.

James Rayment Senior Project Executive

James joined the Soar Beyond team in April 2022, having worked for the John Lewis & Waitrose Partnership for 19 years. During this time James has worked across many different roles, as a Team & Operations Manager in stores across Hertfordshire and London, and more recently working as an Implementation and Business Change Manager in the distribution network, leading various projects to improve business efficiencies and customer experience.

James brings with him a wealth of project management experience, adding to the teams already high calibre level of project delivery.

James is a people person and excels when engaging and collaborating with people to exceed the desired outcome. He has a keen eye for detail and planning and is competitive by nature!

James is excited to join the Soar Beyond family, and learn as much as possible from the team around him, with ambitions to develop himself within his role.

Jemma Gurr Graduate Project Executive

Jemma joined the Soar Beyond team in April 2022 as a Graduate Project Executive.

Jemma’s role covers the breadth of the consultancy supporting many divisions including Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment and i2i, with a focus on proofreading, formatting, and accessibility checking.

As an English graduate with a MA degree in Postcolonial Studies, Jemma can aptly communicate, articulate, and analyse both literature and data with a high level of attention to detail. Her passion for learning combined with her vast editorial experience provides Jemma with a range of skills to support the production of high-quality projects.

Ana Hartup Project Executive

Ana initially joined the team in 2017 and after a small break re-joined to support Soar Beyond as a project executive mainly supporting the production of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments. Ana has a can-do attitude and a very high level of attention to detail which makes her a trusted pair of hands within the business coordinating large volumes of information and data which forms the backbone of many regulatory reports.

Ana has a Masters in Archives and File Management and has held various roles from Personal Assistant to director level, events, and project management.

Joe Waddock Project Executive

Joe joined the Soar Beyond team in November 2021 as a project executive. His role is split supporting all divisions of the business, with a focus on Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment and i2i support. With an aptitude for liaising seamlessly with different members of the team, and knowing where to focus his time and assistance, he helps ensure that targets are met, and goals kept.

With several years’ experience working in customer-facing roles, in sectors such as mining, finance, and real estate, he is always a helpful line of contact to aid in inquiries or feedback.

Joe has a degree in Classical Civilization, which has prepared him with the skills to accurately sift through large volumes of data, whilst maintaining a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

Sarah Thomas Project Executive

Sarah joined Soar Beyond in February 2022 as a Project Executive.

She is accomplished and a highly motivated professional in all aspects of business administration and executive support across many Industries including the Civil Service and has even been the Diary Secretary to former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.

She is a proactive individual, thrives in dynamic environments and quickly adapts to the ever-changing demands of the administrative field.

Erika Moss Project Administrator

Erika’s role within the business is an exciting one covering all areas and getting an insight into how i2i Network runs, projects to the NHS, pharmaceutical industry, and healthcare systems globally.

Erika has qualifications in events and hospitality which enables her to support the delivery of high-quality projects and exceed customer expectations.

Erika has a passion for learning new skills and loves taking on challenges. Erika can’t wait to progress and succeed within Soar Beyond.

Tracy Dixon Marketing Executive

Tracy joined the Soar Beyond team in April 2021 bringing vast experience within Sales and Marketing in several industries including Medical, Oil & Gas, and Aerospace.

Tracy recently completed her CIM Level 3 Certificate in Professional Marketing with Distinction, which she believes will go hand in hand with her ability to increase visibility of Soar Beyond services to both Pharma and NHS customers.

Tracy has a passion for learning and a happy & positive outlook on life.