Our esteemed colleague Jeff Llewellyn is retiring as president of the BMTA following a distinguished career spanning more than five decades in chemistry, measurement, testing and lab accreditation.
A chemist by profession, Jeff graduated from Swansea University before completing a PhD in carbohydrate chemistry. He joined the Laboratory of the Government Chemist – now LGC – in 1973, where he spent a decade working in food and environmental analysis.
Jeff then moved to the Department of the Environment, taking responsibility for indoor air quality and asbestos in buildings, before joining the Building Research Establishment, now BRE Ltd, where he managed the Organic Materials Division and subsequently the Centre for Environment and Health.
Jeff was appointed Chief Executive of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory in 2002, where he remained until retiring from the Civil Service in August 2007.
Alongside his professional career, Jeff has made a significant contribution to the measurement and testing industry. He became a Chartered Chemist in 1976, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1985 and became a Chartered Scientist in 2004.
It was during his time at the National Weights and Measures Laboratory that Jeff joined the BMTA Council in 2006 and became the UK National Member of EUROLAB subsequently serving on the EUROLAB Board from 2010 until 2017 and was Vice President for six years. He was appointed BMTA President in 2008 and Chief Executive in September 2009 until the post was abolished. He was a non-Executive Director of UKAS from 2016 until 2025.
Jeff’s experience, professionalism and service to the sector have been invaluable to the BMTA and he leaves behind significant shoes to fill.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my 20 years with BMTA, on Council, as Chief Executive and as President,” said Jeff, “It has been a pleasure to work with so many exceptional people over the years.”He added, “It has been my mission to raise awareness of the central importance of measurement and testing to the UK economy and of the skills of the people who carry it out. I wish the Association continued success for the future. I’m confident that I leave BMTA in capable hands.”
The BMTA President is an unpaid non-executive post, elected every two years by the AGM. Their main functions are (a) to act as an ambassador for BMTA raising awareness in external forums of BMTA’s purpose and the importance of measurement and testing in general, (b) to chair the AGM and (c) to ensure the sound governance of BMTA. The President can attend council meetings but they cannot vote. Similarly they can attend meetings of the Management Committee and Marketing Committee but are not formally a member of either. The next President will be elected at the AGM, which takes place in October.