The Institution of Mechanical Engineers has appointed Dr Alice Bunn chief executive. She will take up the role in July following the retirement of Dr Colin Brown.
Since 2018 Dr Bunn has been international director of the UK Space Agency, responsible for increasing the UK’s global influence in science, security and trade through space.
She is head of the UK delegation to the European Space Agency, sits on the board of directors of the US Space Foundation and on the World Economic Forum Future Council on space technology.
Dr Bunn gained a BEng at Leeds University and a PhD in metallurgy from Cambridge University.
She said: “I look forward to working with members and staff to build on the Institution’s achievements, develop its role as a leading voice for the engineering profession, and advocate for the power of mechanical engineering to society at large.”