Hugh Maxwell

Hugh Maxwell is an internationally recognised Risk and Safety leader with over 35 years of executive and advisory experience across high-hazard industries including molten metal, offshore energy, subsea and salvage operations, mining, manufacturing, petrochemicals, and major infrastructure projects.

Working across more than 80 countries, Hugh has led complex risk transformation programmes, recently supporting large-scale offshore and subsea projects in the Baltic Sea, delivering zero-LTI outcomes through integrated ISO-aligned management systems, strong contractor governance, and leadership engagement in multi-vessel environments.

He has held senior leadership roles with Vesuvius PLC, Spirax Sarco, Chubb Risk Advisors, Foseco, and ESAB, and received the IIRSM Excellence Award for Best International Risk Initiative. A Fellow of IIRSM, IOSH, the Chartered Management Institute, and the Institute of Leadership, Hugh is an IIRSM and NEBOSH Ambassador and a three-time IIRSM Mentor of the Year.

He currently chairs the IIRSM Fellowship Recommendation Panel and mentors safety and risk leaders globally.

Hugh is a strong advocate for the practical application of enterprise risk management and organisational learning. Through his involvement with IIRSM, he supports the development and promotion of the Organisational Risk Map (ORM) as a powerful tool to help leaders understand risk holistically, strengthen governance, and improve decision-making across complex organisations.