Rob Mason

Mr. Mason joined Exponent in 2014 in the pesticides team after over 25 years with the UK competent authority, Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) of the Health and Safety Executive. He has extensive experience and knowledge of the EU regulatory system for pesticides at practical, technical, and political levels and has been closely involved in its development, implementation, and operation. 

At Exponent Mr. Mason has helped develop strategies for achieving regulatory objectives and managed a range of active substance and product related projects.

Mr. Mason was for many years part of the UK delegation to the EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health developing national positions on EU developments, building on his primary role managing applications for products and active substances. He was also part of the UK negotiating team for EU Regulation 1107/2009, notably developing a widely reported and influential impact assessment on the proposal examining the practical effects of hazard criteria and comparative assessment and substitution. Immediately before joining Exponent he headed the Regulatory Policy Group in CRD for close to 3 years, with responsibility for regulatory policy development and implementation, including sustainable use of pesticides, providing direct support to UK Ministers, national monitoring programmes, research and development, and enforcement for pesticides, biocides, and REACH.

During his time at CRD, Mr. Mason was also responsible for setting up and managing the EU peer review programme for active substances in collaboration with the German authorities, providing training and assistance to accession Member States, and was a member of the Poisons Board, an expert committee of the UK Home Office, from 2012 to 2014. He was seconded to the European Commission for six months and has drafted a number of EU guidance documents and legal texts.