On 1st October 2012, Dr Alan Poole, previously of Dow Europe succeeded Dr Neil Carmichael as Secretary General of ECETOC upon Dr Carmichael's retirement from ECETOC after 30 years in the chemical industry.

Alan Poole earned his B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Cardiff, and his PhD from the University of Surrey: he is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists. He worked for the UK Medical Research Council studying the modes of action of pulmonary lung carcinogenesis in particular mesothelioma before moving to Smith Kline and French to lead a scientific team involved in preclinical development of ethical pharmaceuticals.

He was later employed by Dow Chemical in Switzerland where he worked for over 20 years addressing safety of industrial chemicals, during which time he participated in many industry and governmental activities. He has published a book on toxicology as well contributing chapters to several others, and has published widely in the scientific literature. Alan is a familiar figure at ECETOC where he has been involved with many of its activities over the years.