BAFSA appoints new Chief Executive

BAFSA Council has today announced the appointment of Keith MacGillivray MBE, MA, BSc as the Association’s new Chief Executive (formerly Secretary General). Mr MacGillivray will take up the appointment on 1st January 2016. He will be responsible for all aspects of management and development of of the Association and the support of the Association’s volunteer leadership.

Keith is already known to many BAFSA members and the wider fire community as the able and passionate coordinator of Sprinklers Scotland. He is a former Chief Advisor on fire and rescue service matters to the Scottish Government.  Keith served with distinction in the Strathclyde and Glasgow Fire Brigades from 1974 -2008 retiring as an Assistant Chief Fire Officer.

Since 2009 Keith has worked as a fire consultant and expert witness and has only recently stepped down as Director of the NFPA’s Fire Services Section. He is a former National Chairman of the Fire Fighters Charity and was awarded the MBE for services to the charity in the 2007 New Year’s Honours List.

BAFSA’s Chairman, John McCann said: “I am delighted that Keith has accepted the position as our new chief executive. As an existing member of the BAFSA team we can look forward to a seamless transition and his wide experience and management experience will provide strong leadership and direction in the future”.

On his appointment Keith said “I have long been a strong advocate of automatic fire sprinklers; I look forward to the challenge of promoting the wider use sprinklers throughout the UK and continuing the work to promote BAFSA as the foremost organisation for fire sprinkler development in the UK. In particular, I will be developing the education and qualification profiles of BAFSA Members and promoting additional benefits for BAFSA members.

Keith will join BAFSA in September 2015 and work alongside Stewart Kidd, the current Secretary General to achieve a smooth transition of BAFSA’s management. On his future with BAFSA, Keith commented “Taking over from Stewart Kidd, will be a hard act to follow and I recognise how much has been achieved by BAFSA over the last forty years”. 

For further information regarding BAFSA visit www.bafsa.org.uk