23 March 2026 (London): Professor Mary Ethna Black is the new Chair of The MCS Foundation, a national charity working to decarbonise UK homes, its Board of Trustees has announced.  

Professor Black is a medical doctor, public health leader, entrepreneur and writer. Her board portfolio is focused on the environment and climate change: She is a Non-Executive Director of the National Centre for Earth Observation, a member of the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, a Fellow of Chapter Zero, having first joined The MCS Foundation as a Trustee in 2024. Professor Black’s varied career has included clinical medicine, technology startups, and working for the UN in conflict and post-conflict Balkan countries. She played a leading role in the public health response to COVID-19 in Scotland.  

“I am honoured to have been appointed as Chair of the Board of Trustees at such a critical time”, commented Professor Black. “It’s not only about clean heat and energy, but affordability, industrial growth and public health. The MCS Foundation will have an increasingly important role to play in securing these outcomes, not only through our advocacy, grants and programmes, but through the work of our subsidiary company MCS and its standards and certification scheme. I am therefore very pleased that Karen Shearer will continue as Chair of the MCS company Board, providing continuity to this new phase.” 

“I am delighted to welcome Professor Black as our new Chair, “said Dr Garry Felgate, CEO of The MCS Foundation. “Mary has truly unique experience and expertise across science, policy and organisational leadership, making her perfectly positioned for this role.” 

The Board of Trustees would like to thank its outgoing Chair, Fabio Nehme, who will continue to sit on the Board as a Trustee to support the transition. Fabio’s leadership over the past five years has been critical to  The MCS Foundation’s growth into a leading voice on the decarbonisation of UK homes, successful advocacy campaigns, financing innovative initiatives to decarbonise the built environment, and oversight of the MCS certification Scheme which continues to enable the installation of a record number of renewable energy systems across the UK.  

Fabio Nehme said: “It has been a true privilege to lead The MCS Foundation into becoming a key force in the UK’s efforts to decarbonize households and the built environment. I wish Mary the greatest success as she leads us to even further heights in the years ahead.”