Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, has announced that Louise Ward, Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing at Thames Water, will be joining the charity and membership body on 16 May 2016 as Policy and Standards Director.
Neal Stone, current Policy and Standards Director and former Acting Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, will retire from the British Safety Council on 19 May 2016.
Louise is a highly experienced and well-respected health and safety practitioner. Her career includes appointments in blue-chip companies in a number of industries, including utilities, rail and defence. She also spent a period at EEF, the UK trade association for engineering and manufacturing businesses, where she served as the Head of Health and Safety Policy.
Mike Robinson, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Louise to the British Safety Council and to our executive team. In her capacity as an executive director, she will be helping to shape and position the British Safety Council in the evolving landscape of health and safety. It is a particularly exciting moment as health and wellbeing at work become a stronger component of that discussion. The case for it has become more widely acknowledged, although the importance of maintaining good safety remains equally strong. To a charity that believes no one should be injured or made ill at work, Louise brings her breadth of knowledge, professional experience and insights that will help us champion the business case for sensible and proportionate health and safety management.”
Commenting on her appointment, Louise said: “Proportionate and effective management of health and safety is an enabler of business activity, and I have focused my career on delivering this in a wide range of industrial, commercial and public sector organisations.
“I’m really looking forward to taking up my new role with the British Safety Council. It’s an interesting time for the profession. Recent publication of the new sentencing guidelines has highlighted the importance of proactive and effective management of health and safety risk.”
