Conciliation service Acas has appointed Ed Sweeney as its new chairman.
Sweeney replaces Rita Donaghy who has served as chair since 2000 and who will leave in October.
Sweeney takes up his new post after a stint as deputy general secretary of union Amicus, now part of Unite following a merger with the Transport and General Workers’ (T&G) union.
He has also served as a member of the Accounting for People Task Force 2005,
Employment Tribunal Services and as an independent reviewer to the government Deregulation Review on Occupational Pensions for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
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John Taylor, chief executive at Acas, said: “I am absolutely delighted Ed will be joining us. He has an extensive union background and business sense gained in industries where advances in both technology and development have been at the forefront of economic growth.
“He will be an asset to Acas during a period of workplace change, not seen in this country since, arguably, the Industrial Revolution,” Taylor added.
