Our spokespeople

Peter Thompson (Chief Executive)

Peter became our Chief Executive in April 2012 after three years as Director of Strategy and Information. He is responsible for our overall performance and is focused on our vision of ensuring high quality care for everyone affected by assisted reproduction.

Peter previously worked as a civil servant for a number of Government departments, including the Ministry of Justice and the Cabinet Office.

Julia Chain (Authority Chair)

Julia joined the HFEA as Chair in April 2021 with over 30 years’ experience in legal and managerial roles in both private practice and industry. Julia is also active in the charitable and public sector. Currently Julia chairs Sadeh, an environmental education charity and the Human Dignity Trust, a leading charity in fighting for and securing the decriminalisation of LGBT people.

Clare Ettinghausen (Director of Strategy and Corporate Affairs)

Clare joined us in 2018 and leads the teams working in policy, communications and engagement, intelligence and research, and governance.

She was previously Deputy Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, working on the regulation of political parties and best practice in elections management.

Rachel Cutting (Director of Compliance and Information)

Rachel is a trained embryologist, was Chair of the Association of Clinical Embryologists from 2011-2014 and has been involved with several professional bodies and organisations. She was instrumental in writing the curriculum for the Reproductive Science Scientific Training programme. Rachel was a member of the HEFA Authority and sat on the Statutory Approvals Committee until she joined the HFEA as the Director of Compliance and Information in 2019.

Rachel often speaks on behalf of the HFEA on issues such as regulation and licencing as well as clinical processes.