Chief Executive of the FSA steps down

The Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Emily Miles, has announced that’s she will be stepping down form her position in September 2024.

Miles has been working at the FSA for the past five years and took up her role as Chief Executive in September 2019.

She will be leaving her current role to return to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), where she has been appointed as Director General of Food, Biosecurity and Trade.

As the FSA begins its search for a permanent replacement, it has confirmed that Katie Pettifer, who currently holds the position of Director of Strategy and Regulatory Compliance, will be acting as interim CEO. 

The FSA’s Chair, Susan Jebb, has expressed that the regulator is “sorry to lose Emily”, but confirms she is “confident that [it] will continue to work closely together.

“She will bring a wealth of knowledge to her new role from her time at the FSA, and I look forward to working together in the future to improve the food system,” continued Jebb.

The Chair of the FSA’s role has recently been “temporarily extended to provide consistent leadership over this post-election period”. This is something that Jebb claims “will enable the FSA to continue to provide an effective regulatory system to uphold the high food standards that are so important to us all”.

“I am delighted that Katie Pettifer, who is currently our Director of Strategy and Regulatory Compliance, will be acting as interim Chief Executive to lead our teams whilst we recruit for a permanent appointment,” continued Jebb.

Meanwhile, speaking the news that she will be stepping down from her role as Chief Executive, Miles said: “I’m delighted to take up this new challenge, but I’m really sad to be leaving the FSA. I joined it in 2019, before Brexit, the pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the cost of living crisis. 

Episode 53: A conversation with the FSA Part 1

“The organisation has achieved a huge amount in these five years with a determined focus on delivering food you can trust. I know that I’m leaving the FSA in the strong hands of the FSA leadership team and our Chair Professor Susan Jebb.  

“I am very grateful for the hard work and dedication of my colleagues in the FSA, and look forward to continuing to work with them in my new role.”