Chair of the Board
Paul is Professor of Environmental Assessment at Cranfield University and a non-executive board member of Flood Re, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and Delphic HSE. He is a member of the government’s Natural Capital Committee and chairs the Bedfordshire Local Nature Partnership.
His first job was with BP. He then worked for Schering Agrochemicals before moving into consultancy and then on to SmithKline Beecham. Paul joined the Environment Agency in 1998 and was appointed Chief Executive in 2008, a post he held until 2015.
Dr Leinster has lived in Bedford for almost 30 years and has extensive experience of the environmental, planning and infrastructure opportunities and challenges within bpha’s area of operation, the ‘growth and innovation’ corridor between Oxford and Cambridge.