HSE's Chair Reappointed for Three Years
Judith Hackitt will serve until October 2015 as chair of the Health and Safety Executive.
Great Britain's Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced June 25 that Judith Hackitt, CBE, has been reappointed as chair of the Health and Safety Executive. She has served in that post since October 2007, and the reappointment means she will serve until October 2015.
Hackitt is a chemical engineer who earlier in her career was director general of the Chemical Industries Association from 1998 to 2002. According to HSE, she began her working career in 1975 with Exxon Chemicals and served as group risk manager at Elementis PLC, a global specialty chemicals company, with worldwide responsibility for health and safety, insurance, and litigation.
She also will be president-elect of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in 2013-14 and will be its deputy president in 2012-2013.
"I am delighted that Judith Hackitt has accepted reappointment as the Chair of HSE. Her challenging of poor decision-making in the name of health and safety combined with a pragmatic, risk-based approach to regulation and enforcement will ensure that the deserved reputation of HSE as a fair and open regulator is maintained," said Chris Grayling, minister for employment with responsibility for health and safety matters.
"I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue as the HSE chair at an exciting and demanding time for both the organization and the health and safety community more widely,” said Hackitt. “My focus is clear: ensuring that we continue to drive down death, injury, and ill health in Britain's workplaces while delivering changes to the regulatory system that make it clearer and simpler for employers to understand what they need to do to manage serious risks."