Corporate News

4 March 2021, London, UK - Kooth (AIM:KOO), a leading provider of digital mental health services, announces that it has appointed James Murray as its new Director of Kooth Work. James has deep expertise in mental health, most recently working with Public Health England and advising on an Office For Students project aimed at creating a step-change in mental health outcomes. He has also held senior roles in growing technology businesses such as Splunk, Autonomy, and Interwoven.

James was the Vice President and General Manager of Splunk EMEA and led the local business through a period of intense growth, notably in terms of headcount, geographies and revenues. Before entering the software industry he was a consultant at Accenture advising blue chip financial organisations.

James has significant experience within the mental health sector. He has recently been working with Public Health England to create a framework for serious incident reporting to cover the Higher Education Sector with a view to learning from past incidents, near misses and all sudden deaths at universities. He is also working as an advisor with Universities UK on an innovative technology project led by Northumbria University. The project is examining the use of AI and analytics to provide early alert and intervention to students in distress and at possible risk of suicide. The same technology has the potential to be deployed across the sector to enable students to 'thrive' at university. For his work in this sector he received an Honorary Fellowship for Mental Health Strategy from Brunel University in December 2019.

Kooth Work is Kooth's corporate offering and its aim is to expand the business beyond its traditional markets in the NHS helping young people to transition into work, as well as supporting the wider working population. It is aimed specifically at employers to support the wellbeing of their employees, providing confidential and anonymous access to a wellbeing community, counselling, content and self-help tools. Kooth Work provides valuable, anonymous insights into the wellbeing of the workforce so that employers can identify specific areas of improvement for their wellbeing strategy.

Covid-19 has seen the wellbeing of staff become an increasingly important issue in many work places, and this trend is likely to continue after the pandemic. According to a study undertaken by the Chartered Management Institute, 72% of UK managers naming wellbeing as their top priority for workforces in 2021.1

A recent example of Kooth's expansion beyond its core markets is the partnership signed in January 2021 with Doctor Care Anywhere ("DCA"). The partnership brings together online primary care services and digital mental health services to provide consumers, employers and insurers with true holistic care across physical and mental health. The partnership will allow the development of new, best-in-class mental health services and support and is indicative of Kooth's growth strategy as outlined by the Company at its IPO in September 2020.

Tim Barker, Chief Executive Officer of Kooth said : "We are delighted to welcome someone with James' calibre to Kooth. He has significant experience of scaling category-defining technology businesses, and the manner in which he has faced personal adversity I find truly inspiring. His developments within mental health are supporting students around the UK and he has been justifiably recognised for his work by the likes of Brunel University. I look forward to working alongside him in expanding Kooth Work's position from an industry leading technology and service to a wider audience. As businesses emerge out of lockdown and into the new world of hybrid working, new models to support employee mental health and personal development are needed. I'm excited to have James lead the charge to help businesses respond"

James Murray, Director of Kooth Work, said : "Kooth has built itself an unparalleled reputation in digital mental health, with long established relationships with the NHS across the country. Following its IPO and the fresh capital this brought, there is an opportunity to leverage this excellence to bring Kooth to a new audience. I look forward to working with Tim and the dedicated, multi-disciplinary team at Kooth to make a success of this new opportunity by bringing much needed support to the widest possible audience. I believe that the experiences from my career and the motivation from personal life will help us to make this a reality."

Notes to Editors

1 Management Transformed: Managing in a Marathon Crisis, Chartered Management Institute, https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/research-thought-leadership/management-transformed/  

About Kooth

Kooth is one of the UK's leading digital mental health platforms, set up to provide accessible and safe spaces for everyone to achieve better mental health. The company's online platform is clinically robust and accredited to provide a range of therapeutic support and interventions. All services are predicated on easy access to make early intervention and prevention a reality. 

Kooth offers three services:

• Kooth is commissioned in 77% of the NHS's clinical commissioning group areas across the country. It is a fully safeguarded and pre-moderated community with a library of peer and professional created content, alongside access to experienced online counsellors. There are no thresholds for support and no waiting lists. Currently, Kooth sees over 3,500 logins a day. 
• Qwell operates across distinct locations and serves specific cohorts, including parents, teachers, victims of crime and those who have suffered from or continue to experience domestic violence. It is also offered as a benefit by a number of corporate organisations delivering anonymous digital mental health support services to employees.
• Kooth Work is a corporate service, aimed specifically at employers to support the wellbeing of their employees, providing confidential and anonymous access to a wellbeing community, counselling, content and self-help tools. Kooth Work provides valuable, anonymous insights into the wellbeing of the workforce so that employers can identify specific areas of improvement for their wellbeing strategy.