We are thrilled to announce that Dr Andrew Garrett will be the next RSS President after Professor Sylvia Richardson’s term of office comes to a close at the end of this year.
Andy is executive vice president of scientific operations at the clinical research organisation ICON plc, where he is responsible for the strategic direction and operational delivery of a range of clinical trial services. Having worked extensively in the area of rare diseases, he has held various biostatistics managerial positions in the pharmaceutical industry, including vice president of biostatistics, medical writing and regulatory affairs at Quintiles (now IQVIA).
A member of the UK Statistics Authority’s Research Accreditation Panel, Andy was also commissioned by the National Statistician in 2016 to undertake an independent review of ONS methodology.
Having been an RSS member for over thirty years, he has held several roles with the Society. He was elected to RSS Council in 2003 and served on Executive Committee from 2004-10, becoming a vice president for professional affairs in 2008. In 2013 he chaired the long-term strategy group that led to the RSS tag line Data, Evidence, Decisions and initiatives such as Statisticians for Society. More recently, he formed the Data Science Section and was the chair of the group for its first two years.
Andy takes on the role of President Elect following Professor David Firth stepping down for health reasons earlier this year. He was recommended from a list of nominees put forward by fellows to the President Nominating Committee, with fellows then given an opportunity to nominate an alternative candidate.
In response to the news, Andy said: “I am honoured to have been chosen as the next President of the Royal Statistical Society and have the opportunity to build upon the excellent work done by Sylvia Richardson and her predecessors.
“From climate change to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the need for reliable and robust data has never been more important to policy makers and the public alike, and the RSS continues to have an important role to play as an authoritative and trusted voice.”
Current RSS President Professor Sylvia Richardson, added: “I’m delighted that Andy is to be our next President. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from biostatistics and the pharmaceutical industry and I know he will be a driving force in ensuring that the disciplines of statistics and data science continue to thrive.”