Brian Strutton has been appointed as the next General Secretary of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA). Strutton was nominated by the National Executive Council (NEC) after an extensive and exhaustive process led by the executive search agency, Odgers Berndtson, which attracted a large number of highly-qualified candidates.

BALPA Chairman, Captain Brendan O’Neal, said, “We are looking forward to welcoming Brian into the BALPA family. Replacing somebody of Jim McAuslan’s stature and ability was never going to be easy but we are confident that in Brian we have found a worthy successor.

Brian Strutton said, “I am delighted to have been appointed as BALPA General Secretary and I’m looking forward to working with BALPA’s elected representatives who do a great job negotiating on behalf of the 80% of British pilots that BALPA serves.

“Alongside its high professional standing and passion for flight safety, BALPA is the pilots’ voice in both the public domain and in the corridors of power. I shall be aiming to build on these strengths and encouraging every pilot in the UK to be a proud BALPA member.”

Brian Strutton will be taking over on 1st June 2016 when the current General Secretary, Jim McAuslan, stands down after 13 years’ service with BALPA.

About Brian
Brian spent his early life living in North and East London and won a scholarship to Watford Grammar and then went on to an economics degree at the University of Manchester. He subsequently returned to the City of London in 1981 and joined the Commercial Union Assurance as a Trainee Actuary. Brian continues to take a close interest in pensions and currently sits on the board of the Local Government Pension Scheme as well as being a member of the influential Low Pay Commission.

Two years later, aged 24, Brian’s career took him into the trade union world when he joined the independent Steel Industry Management Association as a Research Officer.

In 1985 Brian moved to the EETPU as an Area Official and was later promoted to National Officer. Seven years later Brian was approached to join the Gas Managers Association as General Secretary, a specialist professional union with 4,500 members. In this role he was responsible for managing a team and overseeing the governance, financial and legal issues.

After the break-up of the gas industry the union merged with the GMB and in 1999 Brian was appointed as National Officer in various industries. Five years later he was promoted to GMB National Secretary for public services, as the lead negotiator for local government and the public sector pension reform.

After 11 years in this role, Brian was promoted to his current position as GMB, National Secretary for the private commercial services sector, operating across a wide range of industries including the retail, security, distribution and energy sectors. With a team of nine reports and his own budget, Brian manages all the national officers and reports directly to the General Secretary and Executive Committee.