Geoffrey Podger, executive director of the European Food Safety Authority, has been appointed chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Podger will take up his new role at the HSE on 28 November after the current chief executive, Timothy Walker, retires.
Before joining the European Food Safety Authority in 2003, Podger was chief executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Britain from its inception in 2000.
Prior to this, he spent 18 years at the Department of Health, including a period leading health promotion.
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Lord Hunt, the health and safety minister, said Podger would be a driver towards ‘good, sensible regulation’.
“Coupled with his understanding of Europe, from where much new health and safety regulation stems, this makes him an ideal leader for HSE,” he added.
