A former adviser to three Conservative science ministers has been named the next executive chair of the Economic and Social Research Council.
Stian Westlake, who was policy adviser to Jo Johnson, Sam Gyimah and Chris Skidmore between 2017 and 2019, is expected to take the helm of the £200 million-a-year research funder in late spring after he was selected for the role by Michelle Donelan, the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology.
The appointment of Mr Westlake, who is currently chief executive of the Royal Statistical Society and former policy head at the innovation thinktank Nesta, ends a two-year delay in finding a permanent leader for the ESRC, which has been led by Alison Park on an interim basis since January 2021.
In February 2022, it emerged that the appointment of Jonathan Michie, president of Kellogg College, Oxford, had been vetoed by the business secretary at the time, Kwasi Kwarteng, despite having been previously approved by an independent panel.
