Exeter's CEO is now MBE

New Year's Honour for Karime Hassan

The boss of Exeter City Council has become a member of the Order of the British Empire - an MBE - in the New Year's Honours' list.

Karime Hassan is the city's chief executive and growth director. He is widely credited with making Exeter one of the leading cities in the UK. Last month, the Centre for Cities, a think tank, placed Exeter in top place for recovery from the pandemic. Other surveys have placed the city in leading positions for economic growth.
 
In a statement, the city council says Mr Hassan's "persistence and negotiating skills helped attract the likes of IKEA and John Lewis to the city.  His work with the University of Exeter, the Met Office and local authority partners in establishing Exeter Science Park is an example of his ambition to build a knowledge based economy for the city and a deliberate strategy for productivity growth based on the world leading research and science undertaken at Exeter.
 
"During his time he has advanced the city’s sustainability credentials with the low carbon task force and Exeter City Futures Community Interest Company.
 
"As one of the architects of the response to Exeter’s 2019 declaration of a climate emergency with the publication of the Net Zero Exeter 2030 Plan, he has championed commitment to the net zero agenda through the council’s development of the St Sidwell’s Point leisure complex, the first in the UK built to the exacting Passivhaus low-energy standard, and the construction of more than 200 council homes to the Passivhaus standard.
 
"His boundless efforts with Tony Rowe and the late Pete Edwards to bring the Rugby World Cup to Exeter, and the nationally-recognised legacy programmes that he introduced, continue to benefit the health and wellbeing of Exeter’s residents.
 
He said: “I’m honoured to receive this. It was a complete surprise and I accept it on behalf of everyone at ECC who has dedicated their professional lives for the benefit of others and to make Exeter a stronger city.
 
“Local government can do a lot of good when it gets things right. With the challenges we face with climate change and the pandemic in the New Year, we’ll redouble our efforts.”
 
From January Mr Hassan will work with Exeter City Futures two days a week to drive forward the city’s net zero ambitions.
 
Council Leader Phil Bialyk said: “This honour is well deserved and I couldn’t be more pleased for Karime. I want to congratulate him on this achievement and thank him for everything that he does for our city.”

Mr Hassan has been a great supporter of Radio Exe, one of the country's few remaining independent commercial radio stations. Its managing director Paul Nero says: "Karime is a man of huge integrity whose commitment to his adopted city is unsurpassed. We couldn't be more delighted that he has been honoured in the 2022 list."