David Crundwell, the first permanent chair of the British Psychological Society, has resigned for personal reasons after just over a year in the role.
The BPS acts as the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK. It is responsible for the promotion of excellence and ethical practice in the science, education and application of the discipline.
Crundwell was appointed as chair of the charity in December 2022 but in a statement today, the charity said he was stepping down for personal reasons.
When asked for more details about Crundwell’s departure, BPS directed Third Sector to its statement and declined to comment further.
Crundwell is also chair of the Imperial Health Charity, which supports hospitals through grants, volunteering and fundraising.
The IHC told Third Sector that Crundwell had not resigned from this position and still sits as its chair. It added that Crundwell would not comment further at this time.
In the BPS statement, Nicky Hayes, president of the organisation, thanked Crundwell, saying: “During his period of office, David brought a positive and dynamic leadership to the board, working with its new structure to introduce several necessary changes within the society.”
The BPS said the governance, board effectiveness and nominations sub-committee of its board would meet later this week to confirm the recruitment process for its next chair.
Crundwell was the first permanent chair of the BPS, appointed after members voted in favour of changes to the society’s charters and statutes in February 2022, which was subsequently approved by its privy council in July that year.
Prior to this vote, the organisation’s governance was led by its elected president, but this model was called into question after a series of resignations and expulsions in recent years.
This included the controversial expulsion of BPS president-elect Nigel MacLennan in 2021. MacLennan was expelled from the charity amid allegations of “persistent bullying”, which he described as “baseless and without merit”.
In November last year, the BPS faced criticism over proposals to change its organisational structure, when sources close to the charity told Third Sector that it was planning on cutting about one-fifth of its workforce amid the changes.
At the time, BPS said that some of the information given to Third Sector was incorrect, but declined to specify what the inaccuracies were.