Katherine Bennett Appointed as Welding Institute President

We are pleased to announce that Katherine Bennett CBE FRAeS has been appointed as the new President of The Welding Institute.

As Chief Executive Officer of the High Value (HVM) Manufacturing Catapult, Katherine is a proud ambassador for UK design, engineering and manufacturing, leading the Catapult in its primary mission of driving industrial transformation through innovation. During a life-long career in industry, spanning Airbus and General Motors (Vauxhall), Katherine has demonstrated a passion for people, leading multiple industry initiatives aimed at ensuring diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace. She also chaired the Western Gateway pan-regional partnership for four years and served on the Levelling Up Advisory Council.

HVM Catapult was established by Innovate UK to help drive economic growth by keeping UK manufacturing innovative, productive and globally competitive. TWI / The Welding Institute has forged links with HVM Catapult since its formation to create a closely aligned hub for industrial growth and development across the UK and overseas.

The Welding Institute's Chair of Council, Claire Kimpton said, "I am delighted to welcome Katherine Bennett CBE FRAeS as the new President of The Welding Institute. Her expertise and experience as CEO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult builds on the existing connections between HVM Catapult and TWI / The Welding Institute, as well as our shared focus on delivering cross-sector technologies in support of industry and providing a platform for professional growth and development across all industry sectors."

Also speaking on Katherine's appointment, TWI / The Welding Institute CEO, Caroline Gumble said, "I am extremely excited to welcome Katherine as President of TWI. We specialise in understanding the performance of materials when joined, processed, or in challenging operating environments. TWI is a global innovation asset, which complements the HVM Catapult ecosystem, where Katherine has served as CEO since 2021. By working closer together, we all become stronger."

On the announcement of her appointment, Katherine Bennett said, "I am honoured to be appointed president of The Welding Institute, an organisation that has been at the heart of industrial progress for well over a century. At such an important time for the welding sector, the support the Institute provides to its members - from skills development to professional recognition - is integral to advancing the welding, joining and allied technologies we need for national resilience and a growing economy. I look forward to championing The Welding Institute's work and supporting its contribution to a more productive, innovative and sustainable manufacturing sector."

Katherine replaces Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, who became our first female president in 2022. We would like to thank Baroness Brown for her support during her tenure and look forward to working closely with Katherine Bennett to achieve the aims of TWI / The Welding Institute for the benefit of our Industrial and Professional Members as well as wider industry.

High Value Manufacturing Catapult

The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult helps drive economic growth across the country by keeping UK manufacturing innovative, productive and globally competitive.

Each year, thousands of businesses come to HVM Catapult seeking solutions to a particular problem or looking for ways to improve the products they sell, the way they make them and the skills of their workforce which could help them attract inward investment and prosper in the global marketplace. HVM Catapult's national network of centres and 3,800 employees provide those companies with access to world-class facilities and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach.

As part of the Innovate UK Catapult Network, HVM Catapult is the link between academia and industry to apply research, commercialising the UK's most advanced manufacturing ideas. Working at scale and across the UK, our centres are a strategic research and innovation hub for UK industry, collaborating to accelerate industrial transformation by tackling key objectives in support of net zero, healthy living and national security.

List of Past Presidents