David Sanders is president of the British Hernia Society. He is a consultant upper GI surgeon and clinical lead for GI Surgery at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, part of the Royal Devon University Hospital Trust. He completed specialty laparoscopic upper GI training in the South West of England and a trauma fellowship in South Africa. His doctorate thesis was on the influence of mesh and fixation techniques on infection in abdominal wall hernia repair and is an internationally recognized expert in the field with over 70 publications in the field of hernia surgery and several book chapters. He has given numerous invited lectures on the topic both nationally and internationally. David chaired the National Institute for Clinical Excellence approved commissioning guidance for groin hernia, was involved in developing the RightCare patient decision aid for inguinal hernias and is on the European working group that developed the Abdominal Wall Closure Guidelines and the International Hernia Guidelines. He is the co-chair of the European Hernia Society Incisional Hernia Guidelines Group.