Hackett is due to start in May 2026, succeeding Tim Bradshaw, who said last year he would step down around Easter 2026 after nearly a decade as chief executive and more than a dozen years at the organisation. Hackett is well known in UK higher education circles for her earlier leadership of University Alliance in the early 2010s and for previous senior roles inside the Russell Group, where she worked on research and policy. Her return comes at a moment when universities are lobbying ministers over a prolonged funding squeeze and trying to shape Labour’s developing higher education agenda, from research budgets and industrial strategy links to the political sensitivity of international student numbers. The appointment was announced on 21 January 2026. In Australia, Hackett has led the Australian Public Policy Institute since its launch in 2021, positioning it as a conduit between universities and government through commissioned research, grants and fellowships. Sector coverage has reported that the institute has delivered dozens of government funded projects in recent years and that its work fed into national debates on system wide higher education reform. Public material from the institute describes Hackett as having more than two decades of experience across government, parliament, think tanks and consultancy. For the Russell Group’s 24 member universities, the chief executive role is central because it acts as the main operational link with Westminster and Whitehall, translating vice chancellors’ priorities into a single lobbying line on research, skills, migration and regulation. Bradshaw’s planned departure, flagged in mid 2025, prompted a recruitment process that the group framed as a high profile advocacy post at the heart of UK research and higher education policymaking. Hackett’s background reflects the increasingly political nature of university leadership. During her earlier time at University Alliance, she regularly appeared before parliamentary committees and engaged directly with ministers and officials on issues such as business university collaboration and research commercialisation. That experience is likely to be tested again as universities brace for continued pressure over tuition fees, regulatory compliance and the balance between domestic and international funding streams. The appointment also signals the Russell Group’s intention to strengthen its policy credentials rather than shift towards a more corporate leadership profile. With a new government still bedding in its approach to science and higher education, the organisation is betting that a chief executive steeped in public policy and cross sector negotiation will be best placed to keep its members influential in decisions on research funding, innovation priorities and the future shape of the UK university system....