Karen Hale

Part of the IT Leaders 100 - a list of the most influential IT leaders in the UK in 2025.

Karen is an experienced healthcare IT leader with over two decades in senior roles across the NHS and private sector. As Head of Cyber Security and IT Governance at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, she is responsible for protecting vital clinical systems, ensuring compliance and driving secure digital transformation across the organisation.

Karen’s expertise spans cyber risk management, service delivery, project leadership and application lifecycle management. Prior to her current role, she led system operations and clinical IT programmes across the Trust and held leadership roles with Siemens Healthcare.

Karen's pragmatic and people-focused approach underpins her success in managing large, multidisciplinary teams and coordinating major implementations of EPR, PACS, RIS and other core systems.

A trusted voice in NHS digital strategy, Karen champions cyber resilience as a critical enabler of safe, efficient and patient-centred care.