Paul Boissier, chief executive of the RNLI, has announced that he will retire in 2019 after ten years leading the lifeboat charity.
In a statement RNLI said Boissier’s plans to retire during the summer of 2019 were long-held, and said that the role had been “challenging, humbling and heart-warming in equal measure”.
Boissier said: “For the last 10 years I have had the privilege of serving as the chief executive of this brave, complicated and historic charity. In an uncertain world, we have continued to provide an outstanding service to the public, while modernising the organisation itself and strengthening the RNLI for any challenges that may lie ahead.
“During this period, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the most impressive and quietly courageous people that I have ever met. The job has been challenging, humbling and heart-warming in equal measure, and I now look forward to handing the mantle to my successor – someone who will help the RNLI continue its noble lifesaving work into the future.”
Modernising
In a statement, the charity said that the modernising journey has focused on “making sure the charity does the right thing: providing the best lifeboats and equipment for its crew members; fundraising in a way that respects the wishes of individual supporters; and building an organisational culture that is both inclusive and respectful”.
It said that it has extended its lifesaving activities around the coast of the UK and Ireland so that today it “not only has a highly effective lifeboat and lifeguard rescue service, but is also doing very much more in terms of drowning prevention, using hard-hitting safety campaigns like Respect the Water”.
The RNLI has also developed its international reach, sharing its lifesaving skills with organisations in other countries in order to help them reduce drowning.
The charity said that parallel to this, the RNLI has “embarked on a journey of cultural change, improving governance, working more closely with other organisations, and generating a more inclusive culture within the RNLI itself”.
It was also the first charity in the UK to move to opt-in communications, and has a gender pay gap of less than 1 per cent, one of the lowest in the sector. The RNLI said that “wide-ranging cost-saving initiatives and continuous improvement have saved the charity an estimated £40m per annum”, and allowed it to invest more money in the effectiveness and the safety of the lifesaving service.
Stuart Popham, RNLI chair, said: “The RNLI is one of UK’s longest-established charities and its leader has a uniquely challenging job; providing both a modern emergency service and running one of the UK’s most valued and respected volunteer-led charities.
“Paul has worked hard to modernise the RNLI over the last 10 years and I am now looking for a new leader for the RNLI to build on his legacy.”
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