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The RSPCA has appointed Ian Jacobs as its new chair. Jacobs, a specialist in the surgical treatment of women’s cancers, succeeds Stuart Howells and Amanda Bringans, who held the role on an interim basis over the past year.
Jacobs currently chairs the boards of Barts Health NHS Trust and City St George’s University in London.
He joins chief executive Jo Rowland, who was appointed to lead the 201-year-old charity in December 2025.
With 40 years of experience in healthcare, Jacobs has led research into the early detection of cancer at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and University College Hospital.
In 2005, he established the Uganda Women’s Health Initiative and is a former president of the British Gynaecological Cancer Society.
He is also a trustee of the Eve Appeal, a charity he founded in the 1980s. His appointment comes as the RSPCA seeks to implement a new national strategy for animal welfare.
Jo Rowland, chief executive, said: “We are pleased to welcome our new RSPCA chair Professor Jacobs, a highly experienced leader across health, higher education and civil society, who has the skills and expertise to drive forward our ambitious strategy for animals.
“As we enter our third century, we are at a critical time for animal welfare and Ian’s expertise and inspirational leadership will be crucial in this important next chapter. I am looking forward to working closely with him to bring the whole organisation together behind our ambitious goals.”
Jacobs added: “I am honoured to have the opportunity to become chair of the RSPCA. Throughout my career and volunteer work, I have been committed to advancing the welfare of our society, through healthcare, research and education.
“It is an enormous privilege to now have the opportunity at the RSPCA to use that experience to advance a cause I am passionate about – animal welfare. Over the last two centuries the RSPCA has played a key role in taking our society on a journey to improve animal welfare, making the case both ethical and practical to advance the cause of animals.”
