Jeff Halliwell has been appointed as Chair of the Coal Authority, a partner organisation of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, from 1 April 2021 replacing Stephen Dingle who has been in the role for 8 years.
The Coal Authority works to make a better future for people and the environment in mining areas. Across Great Britain it protects the public, drinking water and the environment in coal mining areas and seeks opportunity from our coal mining legacy. The Coal Authority is an operational delivery body and operates a 24/7 incident response.
As well as managing the effects of past coal mining the Coal Authority uses its information and expertise to help people make informed decisions, support the housing market, and provide skilled services to others. It is also working to make a significant contribution to delivering government policy on net-zero carbon through its innovative approach to decarbonising heat using mine water and mine assets.
This appointment has been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Jeff’s executive experience is in CEO roles with consumer-facing businesses such as Fox’s Biscuits / Northern Foods, First Milk, and Bernard Matthews. His background is in international marketing and commercial roles with blue-chip businesses such as Mars and Colgate. He also ran a private equity backed tech SME.
Jeff now has a varied Chair and non-executive portfolio across private, public, and third sector organisations, particularly supporting organisations with a social purpose. Amongst other roles, he has been Chair of Cafedirect plc, and of Airport Coordination Ltd, and a Non-Executive Director of Working Links Ltd and of Natures Menu pet food. He has served as a Trustee of Shaw Trust and of Homestart Leicester, as a NED in a number of NHS organisations, and has sat on the Boards of 2 universities. He is currently the Chair of Transport Focus (the transport watchdog), and chairs the Customer Engagement Group in respect of Electricity North West.