EASPD announces the appointment of Mr. Thomas Bignal as its new Secretary General. Mr. Bignal formally started his position on 7 November.

Today, on 9 November 2023, the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Thomas Bignal as its new Secretary General.

Mr. Bignal has been a key part of the EASPD secretariat for 10 years with a strong background in policy. He has served as the Head of Policy, shaping EASPD's voice at a European level. Together with his policy team, he has built EASPD’s relationship with the United Nations and European institutions. Over recent years, he has also played a key role in successfully managing numerous European projects, authored many EASPD reports, and organised several conferences. Mr. Bignal was also the Director of the Federation of European Social Employers, playing a crucial role in its creation and development.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. James Crowe, President of EASPD, says, “On behalf of the Board of EASPD, we’re very excited about the development of EASPD in the coming years, with Thomas as Secretary General and the highly skilled team that he now leads. Thomas has shown his ability to lead and transform innovative ideas into concrete action, which he does so both at a political level and in terms of practical services for Members.”

Mr. Crowe also gave a special mention and thanks to Mr. Timothy Ghilain, who acted as Interim Chief Executive on top of his role as Chief of Staff for the past 7 months. He extended his gratitude to EASPD’s managers – Ivana Davidovska (Head of Projects), Rachel Vaughan (Head of Operations) and Renaud Scheuer (Head of Knowledge and Innovation) – and the rest of the team, for their work during the transition period.

Speaking on his appointment and goals, Mr. Bignal says, “My focus falls onto three main areas: further strengthening our wonderful community of organisations and partnerships, driving human rights-based and person-centred approaches and policies, and helping members make practical progress on the transformation of services.”

With Mr. Thomas Bignal’s leadership, the EASPD secretariat will continue to collaborate with members, partners, and funders to contribute to creating a more inclusive society.

For more information, please contact:

Thomas Bignal
Head of Policy
thomas.bignal@easpd.eu  
+32 2 233 77 23 

Note to editors:
The European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities is a non-profit European umbrella organisation, established in 1996, and currently representing over 20,000 social and health services for persons with disabilities. EASPD advocates effective and high-quality disability-related services in the field of education, employment and individualised support, in line with the UN CRPD principles, which could bring benefits not only to persons with disabilities, but to society as a whole.

The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Commission.