Reckitt Appoints Director of Medical & Scientific Engagement

Reckitt, the makers of Lysol, have appointed leading hygiene expert Dr. Lisa Ackerley as Director of Medical and Scientific Engagement, Hygiene. Dr. Ackerley has over 30 years’ experience as an environmental health practitioner and was awarded The Society of Food Hygiene and Technology’s (SOFHT) prestigious Most Significant Contribution to the Food Industry award. 

Based in Reckitt’s U.K. headquarters but with a global remit, Dr. Ackerley works with the Global Business Solutions team to help provide advice on how businesses can apply bespoke hygiene approaches to keep their customers and staff safe. She draws on her deep expertise to ensure Reckitt’s hygiene products and services – including Lysol Pro Solutions, Lysol’s science-led, business-to-business offering – follow the latest best practice for surface disinfection and hand hygiene. 

“We’re excited to welcome Dr. Ackerley to our team, expanding Reckitt’s long-standing scientific expertise in germ-kill and disinfection,” says Rahul Kadyan, EVP of Reckitt Global Business Solutions. “Leveraging her extensive experience and deep scientific knowledge, Dr. Ackerley will help us continue to innovate and provide the highest quality hygiene products and protocols to consumers and businesses across the globe.” 

As one of the most well-known figures in the hygiene industry, Dr. Ackerley can frequently be seen on TV and is often called upon to offer advice on hygiene to industry stakeholders and governments. She is a Chartered Environmental Health Practitioner, Visiting Professor at the University of Salford and Professorial Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health. She is also a Trustee and Vice Chair of the charity IFH, which provides scientific advice on home and everyday life, and Trustee of the Royal Society for Public Health. Previously, Dr. Ackerley ran her consultancy company Hygiene Audit Systems for 28 years until its sale in 2015, and then established the Public Health Company with the Hygiene Doctor brand. She holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, which explored public perceptions of food safety, and has worked as an expert witness for food law and practice. 

“Reckitt is committed to creating a cleaner, healthier world and is continuously looking for new and innovative ways to help protect people from illness-causing germs,” says Dr. Ackerley. “Hygiene isn’t just about using products, it’s about interventions at the right place, the right time and the right frequency. I’m delighted to be part of a company that puts cutting edge behavioral research at the center of its approach to hygiene at a time when consumer expectations of cleanliness have changed forever.”