Katie Pettifer, Chief Executive

Katie joined the FSA in July 2021 and became the interim Chief Executive in August 2024. She was appointed as permanent Chief Executive in January 2025.

As Chief Executive, she is responsible for the overall management and leadership of the FSA, and for delivering the strategy set by the FSA Board. The FSA’s mission is “food you can trust” – it makes sure that food is safe, and food is what it says it is, and helps to make food healthier and more sustainable. Katie reports to the FSA Board, and is the Accounting Officer for the FSA, which means she is accountable to Parliament for the FSA’s expenditure and performance.

In her previous role as Director for Strategy and Regulatory Compliance, Katie was a member of the FSA’s executive management team and was responsible for the FSA’s overall strategy, legal, communications, governance and project delivery teams. She also led the FSA’s regulatory compliance work, working with local authorities to ensure that food businesses are complying with the law on food safety and standards, and developing new approaches for the future through the FSA’s 'Achieving Business Compliance' Programme.

Before she joined the FSA, Katie was the Public Policy Director at Ofcom, where she played a major role in shaping Ofcom’s work on issues like improving mobile and broadband coverage across the UK and working with the Government on new regulation to protect people from harmful content online. She also sponsored Ofcom’s diversity and inclusion strategy. Before that she spent two decades in Whitehall departments, providing policy advice to ministers on a wide range of social policy issues. She has held Senior Civil Service roles in the Ministry of Justice, the Cabinet Office and the Northern Ireland Office.

Recent speeches

Chief Executive’s speech to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health’s (CIEH) Safe Food Conference - Friday 22 November, 2024

Chief Executive’s speech to the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Conference 2025 - Tuesday 4 March 2025

Chief Executive’s speech to the Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum - Thursday 6 March 2025

Chief Executive’s speech to the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) - Friday 25 April 2025