Matt Whittaker is to step down as chief executive of the think tank PBE to join the Nuffield Foundation.
Whittaker, who has led PBE for the past seven years, will leave this month to take up the new position of executive director for research, grants and programmes at the Nuffield Foundation.
The foundation supports research to improve social wellbeing and help young people develop an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Before joining PBE, Whittaker was chief economist at the Resolution Foundation. He has also worked in private sector consultancy and in parliament.
Whittaker said in a LinkedIn post he was excited to be joining the Nuffield Foundation.
“It’s an organisation that has long played a vital role in shaping decision-makers’ understanding of both the social challenges that face the country and the means by which they can best be tackled,” he said.
But Whittaker said he was facing having to say a “difficult farewell” to the PBE team.
“It’s been a huge privilege to lead the organisation and to work with – and learn from – such brilliant people,” he said.
“In looking back on the last seven years, there are any number of achievements and metrics that I could list – after all, we’re pretty good at measuring impact at PBE.
“But the thing I’m proudest of is the team. If my time as chief executive is judged on the basis of the quality of the team that I’ve helped to assemble, then I’ll be very happy indeed.”
Gavin Kelly, chief executive of the Nuffield Foundation, said: “Matt joins the foundation at an important moment as we advance our new strategic direction, focusing on the key social challenges facing the country.
“His wide-ranging experience of using evidence to illuminate and tackle some of the issues of our age will be invaluable to Nuffield.”
Jon Franklin and Cassia Dingwall, PBE’s chief economist and director of operations and finance, respectively, will become interim co-chief executives when Whittaker leaves the think tank.