Judith Hackitt

Hackitt was born on 1 December 1954 in Dordon, Warwickshire, England.[1] She graduated in chemical engineering from Imperial College, London in 1975.[2]

After graduating from university, Hackitt worked for Exxon Chemicals for 15 years at the Fawley Refinery. She joined the Chemical Industries Association in 1998 and became its Director General from 2002 to 2005. She then worked in Brussels for the European Chemical Industries Council (Cefic) before being appointed Chair of the Health and Safety Commission in 2007. She became Chair of the Health and Safety Executive on 1 April 2009 when the two organizations merged.[3]

She was President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers from 2013 to 2014.[4] She was a senior non-executive director and trustee of the Energy Saving Trust, a non-Exec director of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and a trustee of the City & Guilds Group.[5]

In 2016, she took over as Chair of manufacturing trade body EEF from Martin Temple, who himself then became Chair of the Health and Safety Executive.[6][7] She is currently the Chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, which was commissioned by the Government following the Grenfell Tower fire. The Review's Interim Report was published in December 2017.[8]

She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010,[9] and currently chairs the External Affairs Committee. She is also a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and a member of its council.

Hackitt was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006 for services to health and safety[1][3][10] and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to engineering and health and safety.[11][12] She was listed in the Top 50 Women in UK Engineering by the Telegraph in 2016.[13]

• Judith Hackitt speaks video interview