Garrett (pictured) will replace Professor Sylvia Richardson as president when her term of office ends at the end of this year.

In addition to his role as president-elect at the RSS, Garrett is currently executive vice-president of scientific operations at clinical research organisation Icon, where he is responsible for strategic direction and operational delivery of clinical trial services.

Garrett is also a member of the UK Statistic Authority’s Research Accreditation Panel, which oversees the approval of research projects in accordance with the Digital Economy Act.

In 2016, Garrett was commissioned by the National Statistician to carry out an independent review of Office for National Statistics methodology.

Other roles held by Garrett include various biostatistics managerial positions in the pharmaceutical industry, include vice-president of biostatistics, medical writing and regulatory affairs at Quintiles, now called IQVIA.

Richardson said: “I’m delighted that Andy is to be our next president. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from biostatistics and the pharmaceutical industry, and I know he will be a driving force in ensuring that the disciplines of statistics and data science continue to thrive.”

Garrett said: “I am honoured to have been chosen as the next president of the RSS and have the opportunity to build upon the excellent work done by Sylvia Richardson and her predecessors.

“From climate change to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the need for reliable and robust data has never been more important to policy makers and the public alike, and the RSS continues to have an important role to play as an authoritative and trusted voice.”