Image by British Heart Foundation

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has appointed leading business figures, Lord Hintze and Shane Thakrar, as the first of a new network of Patrons.

Lord Hintze and Shane Thakrar will use their voluntary positions to support the charity as the UK’s leading cardiovascular research charity by raising awareness of its lifesaving work, building new networks of supporters and fundraising for cutting-edge areas of science.

The leading philanthropists are the first of what BHF hopes will be a small network of Patrons committed to supporting its work.

Lord Hintze founded the hedge fund CQS in 1999 and is today its Group Executive Chairman and Senior Investment Officer. He is also the founder and Trustee of the Hintze Family Charitable Foundation, which supports vital causes in the areas of health, education, and the arts.

The business leader has already hosted a fundraising dinner for BHF’s research and supported many areas of its work.

Shane Thakrar, whose family are long-term supporters of the charity, is the CEO of Dallas Holdings, an entity set up to own and operate franchised F&B brands.

The group are proud partners of Pret A Manger in the UK and USA, with stores across a selection of UK counties and development rights for Southern California, and the addition of stores to Pret’s existing New York locations.

The family also have interests in Rapid Electric Vehicle Charging, developing a consumer experience led network, across both their own and other similar amenity led partner locations.

Mr Thakrar’s family foundation, the Thakrar Foundation, has also supported medical research for many years – including that undertaken by BHF.

The Chair of Trustees for BHF, Wendy Becker, said, “Our ground-breaking research is only possible thanks to the generosity of volunteer supporters like Lord Hintze and Shane. We’re delighted to welcome them as Patrons, and I look forward to working with them closely in helping to build significant support for world-leading science that has the potential to revolutionise heart treatment and care within the coming years.”

Chief Executive of BHF, Dr Charmaine Griffiths, said, “We’re delighted to appoint Lord Hintze and Shane Thakrar as Patrons – a vital ambassadorial role that will inspire greater support for our lifesaving work.

“In the wake of the pandemic, people with heart and circulatory diseases have never needed us more. But with leading philanthropists like Lord Hintze and Shane Thakrar supporting us, our aim is to accelerate the pace at which our researchers turn cutting-edge areas of science into new lifesaving treatments and cures. We’re extremely grateful for their continued and ongoing support.”

The Patrons will advocate for some of the charity’s most exciting and transformational areas of research – including in artificial intelligence, gene editing and regenerative medicine.

Both have already hosted events and supported fundraising for its £30m CureHeart programme – a world-leading team of scientists who are pioneering gene-editing techniques that could soon be used to cure deadly inherited heart muscle diseases.

Lord Hintze said, “I’m honoured to become one of the British Heart Foundation’s first Patrons – an organisation I am in no doubt shares my passion for supporting truly cutting- edge science with the potential to save and improve countless lives. I look forward to using the position to help the BHF increase support for transformational areas of research, such as artificial intelligence, which could rapidly accelerate how we tackle some of the world’s biggest health challenges.”

Shane Thakrar said, “Heart disease affects nearly all of us and has had a profound impact on my family and I. It’s therefore a privilege to help the British Heart Foundation raise awareness of its cutting-edge research in areas such as AI, gene editing and regenerative medicine so that it can continue to raise the funds needed to power urgently needed scientific progress. I look forward to using the role to open up new opportunities for this unique charity that will help with its mission to save and improve lives.”

BHF is the UK’s largest non-commercial funder of cardiovascular research, funded solely by the generosity of the public and its philanthropic partners.

Founded in 1961, it has been instrumental in discoveries that have shaped how heart and circulatory diseases are prevented, diagnosed, and treated worldwide. However, heart and circulatory diseases remain the world’s leading cause of premature death, with around 7.6m people living with them in the UK, meaning further advances are desperately needed.