The Head of Health and Safety for a leading Formula One team is set to be the next President-Elect of his global professional body.

Stuart Hughes (pictured), who is originally from Shirley in the West Midlands and works for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, was elected by members of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH) Council when it met last week.

He is set to become President-Elect, subject to ratification at IOSH’s AGM next month, and then become President a year later.

Stuart said: “I’m really excited about becoming President-Elect. I think it’s a great opportunity and a real privilege. The whole role is about service, about service to our membership, about service to the profession, and about service to IOSH.

“That’s the bit that really excites me. I think I’m going to grow massively in this role and learn more about myself as I deliver that service for others.”

Stuart is a first career safety professional who heads up the health and safety team at the F1 team. He has worked for the Northamptonshire-based team since 2015 and has overseen the health and safety strategy, playing his part in a multiple championship winning era.

A chartered member of IOSH, Stuart previously worked for professional services network KPMG in their sustainability services team and has implemented safety management systems for Veolia Environmental Services across their largest European waste contract and enforced health and safety legislation as Environmental Health Officer for the City of Westminster and Camden Council in London. He is a specialist in enhancing organisational safety performance and driving cultural change and aims to inspire a future generation of health and safety leaders who chose the profession as their first career.

Stuart, who has been a Vice-President for IOSH since 2019, said now is a key moment for the health and safety profession. He added: “It’s really important that we as a profession capitalise on the Covid dividend.

“What I mean by that is there’s a spotlight that’s been put on profession, as we’ve turned into being seen as effective enablers and we need to grow that so society and business understand the value of what occupational safety and health brings. And we need to demonstrate how we have a positive impact on the world.”

Stuart was elected by IOSH Council members, the Institution’s representative body, on 12 October. Subject to ratification at the AGM, he will take over as President-Elect from Lawrence Webb (as he becomes President).