Justin McCracken appointed new Chief Executive of the Health Protection Agency

9 January 2008

The Chairman of the Health Protection Agency, Sir William Stewart , today announced the appointment of Justin McCracken as the Agency's new Chief Executive.

Mr McCracken is currently Deputy Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive. A physicist by training, Mr McCracken has extensive senior level experience of both private and public sector organisations. He replaces Professor Pat Troop who retires in April 2008 after five years in post.

In his current post, since 2002, he has had responsibility for the operational side of the HSE. He has led and managed large, geographically dispersed teams of experts promoting improvements in health and safety. A focus of his work has been the development of a more modern, outcome-driven approach to health and safety regulation, and he has led the HSE's response to major health and safety incidents across the UK.

Mr McCracken joined ICI in 1976 where his career covered business development and operational management, marketing, research and process development. He has managed various multi-site groups in Europe and internationally, with annual group turnovers of £100-£200 million, had responsibility for the research and technology development of ICI's acrylics business and was managing director of the high performance catalyst and technology business (ICI Katalco) with sites in the UK , USA and India.

From 1998-2002, he worked at the Environment Agency as Regional Director, North West England, bringing private sector expertise to the public sector, and with responsibility for all the agency's activities in the region. These included regulation of water and waste industries, flood defences and the promotion of sustainable development, and promoting enhanced cross-sectoral working across various local organisations.

Announcing the appointment Sir William said: “Justin McCracken has extensive senior management experience in the public and private sectors, in the chemicals industry, the environment field, and in the Health and Safety Executive. He is a proven leader, accustomed to multi-site working and dealing with highly qualified, expert staff across a range of areas including chemical, nuclear, microbiology and technology hazards, both in the UK and internationally. His focus on output-driven performance management, whilst maintaining a public sector service ethic, aligns well with the thrust of the Health Protection Agency. I am delighted Mr McCracken will be joining us and look forward to working closely with him.”

Mr McCracken said: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead the Health Protection Agency in the next stage of its development. It has a vital role protecting the health of people in the United Kingdom , and an impressive range of skills to enable it to fulfil that role. It has a well established reputation for the quality of its work, but major challenges remain. I look forward to working with the Board and staff to continue to deliver improvements in public health protection.”

 

Notes to Editors

• For further information, please contact the Health Protection Agency's Holborn Press Office on 020 7759 2718.
• The Health Protection Agency is an independent organisation dedicated to protecting people's health in the United Kingdom . It does this by providing impartial advice and authoritative information on health protection issues to the public, to professionals and to government. The Agency combines public health, biological, chemical and radiological expertise, research and emergency planning in one organisation. It works at international, national, regional and local levels and has links with many other organisations around the world. This means it can respond quickly and effectively to new and existing national and global threats to health.

 

Last reviewed: 29 December 2008