Meet the team
“We understand the devastating effect of animal cancer on our beloved pets and their families. We sadly lost our beautiful and much-loved Burmese cat, Rumba, to cancer at a young age. Since then, we have been passionate about creating a positive legacy for Rumba to ensure that every pet has the best chance of a happy and healthy life.
In 2012, we set up The Rumba Foundation, now The Rumba Animal Cancer Foundation, to support pioneering clinical veterinary care and provide state of the art equipment to treat animals with cancer. The use of the equipment funded by Rumba is given free of charge to patients with a mission to transform veterinary oncology. We will achieve this through a partnership with AURA Veterinary – a world leading centre for excellence in animal oncology and soft tissue surgery based in Surrey. This collaboration will deliver ground-breaking clinical research and treatment to ensure that more pets survive cancer and in time, hopefully prevent them from developing it all together.”
James and Fiona Hindle, Rumba Animal Cancer Foundation
Our Advisory Board
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Fiona Hindle, TrusteeList Item 2
An English Literature graduate from the University of Glasgow, Fiona moved to London to pursue a career as a training and career development professional. For 10 years she helped students and graduates embark on their initial career path at the University of London, before setting-up her own executive coaching and training business, Make Life Easy.
Fiona has been a passionate animal-lover all her life. Having grown up with dogs, her life changed over 20 years ago when her husband Jim brought home a Burmese kitten. He was called Rumba… and his life inspired the creation of our charity. Fiona was previously a Trustee of the University of Cambridge Veterinary School Trust for eight years before setting up The Rumba Foundation in 2012, which has now evolved into the Rumba Animal Cancer Foundation.
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James Hindle, TrusteeList Item 3
Having qualified in Architecture at the Glasgow School of Art, Jim has spent most of his career leading the design and construction of high-quality commercial buildings.
While a director of London and Paris Properties, he supervised the delivery of a number of prestigious new build and refurbishment projects. In 1991 he launched his own architectural practice TateHindle Limited but sold the business in 2108 to follow new directions and currently has a number of consultancy roles.
A keen sailor and a sports car enthusiast, Jim organises and participates in an annual classic sports car rally from Calais to Cannes – arriving on the French Riviera to attend the property industry’s annual conference. A lifelong animal-lover, he grew up with small dogs and, along with wife Fiona, has shared almost all his adult life with Burmese cats.
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Professor Nick Bacon, Clinical Director, AURA Veterinary and Professor of Surgical Oncology, University of SurreyList Item 1
Nick has focused on surgical oncology for over 20 years, taking him from the University of Cambridge to Colorado State University and then the University of Florida. He is now based just outside London, as Clinical Director of AURA Veterinary, a secondary and tertiary referral level hospital in Guildford built on advancing science and innovation within small animal oncology and soft tissue surgery, and also holds a part-time Professorship in Surgical Oncology at the University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine.
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Professor Kamalan Jeevaratnam, Head of the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of SurreyList Item 4
Kamalan is the Head of the School of Veterinary Medicine at Surrey University - one of the country's newest vet schools, offering a modern and innovative curriculum designed to integrate scientific and clinical knowledge, preparing students for the demands of contemporary veterinary practice.
Kamalan’s area of clinical interest is in companion animal medicine, and his research focuses on cardiology. His research interests also include integrative physiology, novel therapeutic agent discoveries, human animal interface research as well as medical education.
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Professor Chris Proudman, Professor of Veterinary Clinical Science, University of Surrey
Chris is Professor of Veterinary Clinical Science at the University of Surrey, an academic veterinary surgeon with teaching, clinical and research expertise. His research focus is on the gut bacterial populations of horses and how they influence health and disease. He leads a small group of scientists in the Horse Microbiome Research Group.
During a 35-year research career, he has made important contributions to the enhancement of equine intestinal health and to the prevention of athletic injury in racehorses. Amongst other advisory roles, he has served on the Horserace Betting Levy Board’s Veterinary Advisory Committee (2013 – 2022) and has been Veterinary Advisor to Aintree Racecourse since 2012.