Heather Hancock
Biography
Heather Hancock was announced as lead non-executive board member for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 21 July 2023.
Heather Hancock is the Master of St John’s College in the University of Cambridge and Chair of the Royal Countryside Fund.
Before being elected Master of St John’s College, Heather served 5 years as Chair of the Food Standards Agency (2015 to 2021).
Heather previously worked at professional services firm Deloitte (2003 to 2014), where she served as a Managing Partner for the UK branch and Managing Director of the global business. In these roles, she provided advice on business strategy and complex programme governance to clients including the international Olympic movement.
Heather has also held senior roles in Whitehall, local and regional government. She was the Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and was a Commissioner for a recent enquiry into the needs of remote rural communities in her home county of North Yorkshire.
In 2014, Heather also delivered an independent review of bias and impartiality into the BBC’s rural affairs coverage. She is currently the chair of the Agricultural Forum and a non-executive director of Rural Solutions Ltd.