The Executive team

Chief executive officer (ceo)

Dr Sven Young, MD, PhD, FCS (ECSA)

Dr Young was trained as an orthopaedic surgeon in Norway. Before coming to Malawi in 2008 he was head of paediatric orthopaedic surgery at Haukeland University Hospital (HUH) in Bergen, Norway, and specialised in paediatric and adult reconstructive surgery, and orthopaedic trauma surgery. He has been working as an orthopaedic surgeon and leading the HUH support of the surgery training programme at KCH since 2008. The idea for the establishment of LION to meet the huge need for surgical services in a more sustainable manner originated from his discussions with colleagues in the orthopaedic department at KCH and he has been working with MoH and HUH to realise this vison since 2012. He was appointed as the CEO of LION at the LION Trust’s first Board meeting in November 2016. He is still seconded by HUH.

Medical director

Dr Boston Munthali, MBBS, MSc, FCS(ECSA)

Dr Munthali trained as an orthopaedic surgeon at KCH in Lilongwe, qualifying in 2015 under COSECSA. He did his Spine surgery Fellowship from 2016-2017 in India. Before LION he was working in Northern Malawi at the referral Mzuzu Central Hospital. There he was head of orthopaedics and a member of the hospital’s management team. He has served on the LION board of Trustees as the trustee representing the Malawi Orthopaedic Association from 2019 to 2020. He is committed to working towards advancing the scope of orthopaedic care services in Malawi.

Dr Munthali was employed by the LION Trust as the first Medical Director of LION in December 2020.

Director of Nursing

Ms Rachel Chikondi Jiya, BSc.N, UCM, MSc.(N)

Ms. Jiya qualified as a nurse from Kamuzu College of Nursing in 2010, then later did her University Certificate in Midwifery at the same institution in 2014. She graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing majoring Medical-Surgical Nursing at the Xiangya Nursing School of Central South University in China on 23rd June 2020. During her Masters, she researched Pressure Injuries as a measure of the quality of ward care in the hospitals of Malawi.

Before joining LION, Ms. Jiya worked with Kamuzu Central Hospital in the endoscopy unit and surgical ward as an in-charge focusing on organizing the units for improved service and patient safety as well as delivering direct nursing care for 10 years. From 2016 to 2018, Ms. Jiya was also seconded to Kamuzu College of Nursing as a clinical instructor on a two year contract. During this time, she was responsible for teaching, mentoring, supervising, and assessing nursing students during their clinical placement, identifying the students' gaps, and teaching them skills both in the clinical departemnts and skills lab. Ms. Jiya has also worked as a part-time lecturer at KCN in the Medical-Surgical department for one year.

Ms. Jiya was employed by LION Trusts as the first Nursing director of LION on 1st February 2021.

Director of finance

Mrs. Hlambase Tizifa Munde MBA, FCCA, CA(Mw) – Finance Director

Mrs. Hlambase Tizifa Munde is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). She is also a registered member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi and holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Bolton (UK).

With extensive experience in the audit and accounting industry.

Hlambase began her career with Deloitte in 2009 and later joined EY in 2016. She went on to serve as Management Accountant for Pyxus Agriculture Malawi, where she was responsible for key financial functions including financial planning and analysis, monthly reporting, annual budgeting, and quarterly reforecasts.

As the Finance Director at LION, Hlambase leads the institution's Financial Strategy, Operational Risk Management, Internal Controls, and Financial Reporting. She brings a wealth of knowledge, integrity, and strategic insight to her role, contributing significantly to LION's mission and long-term success.

Director of HR

Mr. Patrick Chitsime, MBA, BaHR, Dip. CM

Before pursuing a career in HR & Admin, Mr Chitsime was a qualified Clinical Officer graduated from the Malawi College of Health Sciences. He worked as a general Clinical Officer for MOH and Dream Malawi for nine years accumulating experience of the public health care system in Malawi. He later trained as an HRM practitioner at Chancellor College.

Prior to joining LION, he worked as a Principal HR & Administrative Officer for the University of North Carolina Project Malawi; a Bio-Medical Research institution where he provided overall oversight for the management of the human resources and administration operations and office management. He has seven years of professional experience in Human Resources Management, Administration, Operations (Procurement and Fleet management), General Management and General Office Management and holds an MBA from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI).

Mr Chitsime was hired as the first HR Director of LION in February 2021.

Director of maintenance and infrastructure

Ms. Omega Mitinda, BEng BME, MSc BME

Ms. Omega Mitinda graduated with an Honours Degree in Biomedical Engineering from Malawi University of Science and Technology in 2019. She later pursued her Master of Science Degree in Biomedical Engineering at American University of Beirut and graduated in 2023. Throughout her academic journey, Ms. Mitinda was involved in projects focused on developing affordable medical devices for developing countries. She also participated in tissue engineering research aimed at developing biomimetic scaffolds for breast cancer drug screening.

Before joining LION, Ms. Mitinda worked as a Senior Biomedical Engineer at Zomba Central Hospital, where she was responsible for the maintenance of medical equipment. She also worked as a part-time Biomedical Engineering lecturer at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences. Additionally, she collaborated with non-governmental organizations to provide medical equipment user training.

Ms. Mitinda understands the critical role of medical equipment and hospital infrastructure in delivering quality patient care. She is committed to improving patient outcomes by ensuring reliable infrastructure and optimal functionality of hospital and medical equipment.