Patricia Hewitt is the senior independent director, BT Group, chair of the UK India Business Council and a non-executive director of Bupa and EuroTunnel. As Health Secretary in Tony Blair's Government from 2005 to 2007, she championed patient choice, initiated the Whole System Demonstration Pilot and was responsible for the smoke-free legislation in England. A long-standing advocate of closer trade and economic ties between the UK and India, she is particularly interested in the potential for partnership between NHS Trusts and other British healthcare organisations and their counterparts in India, sharing expertise on technology, innovation and care pathways for the benefit of patients in both countries.