09 February 2023
BSR Chief Executive, Ali Rivett, will be stepping down from his role later this year as he moves on to become the new Chief Executive of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. He’s been a contributing figure within BSR for many years and has overseen many of the society’s successes. Here are a few words from Ali.
''I’m not sure where the time has gone, but I’ve spent almost 10 years in total at BSR, and as CEO for the last six. This undoubtedly reflects how much I’ve enjoyed working in this friendliest of specialties, the challenges, the many successes and those I’ve worked with.
One of our organisational values emphasises the importance of celebrating achievements across the specialty, and mine for BSR include:
- Strengthening the society by bringing together the community on a UK-wide, multi-disciplinary basis, increasing membership by 20% to a record high.
- Transforming the culture of the organisation, leading to the award of Investors in People accreditation for the first time in 2018, with ‘silver’ accreditation achieved in 2021.
- Improving the financial strength and sustainability of BSR, which has enabled significant investment in the delivery of our new 5-year strategy.
These successes (and many others) reflect the skills and expertise of both our incredibly talented staff team and an increasingly large number of clinicians who volunteer their time. And so, I want to put on record my thanks to everyone for helping make BSR what it is.
The society is in great shape and will continue to go from strength to strength under the leadership of my successor. Recruitment will begin shortly and a further announcement will be made in the coming months about the appointment. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you all at our annual conference in April, before I leave to take up my new position at the College shortly afterwards.”