Dave Cooper
MBE, BSc (Hons), MSc, MPhil, CEng, FCIBSE, FSoVT, FSOE, FBES, FCGI
CIBSE President 2026/27
About Dave Cooper
Dave Cooper is the CEO of LECS (UK) & LECS (UAE). He has been in the lift & escalator industry since 1980 and is a well-known author and speaker. He holds a Master of Philosophy Degree following a 5-year research project into accidents on escalators, a Master of Science Degree in Lift Engineering, as well as a Bachelor of Science Honours degree, Higher National Certificate and a Continuing Education Certificate in lift and escalator engineering.
He started his career under the Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer of the Southern Region of British Railways. Following this, he joined Kone Marryat & Scott (now KONE), rising to Area Safety Manager & Staff Engineer.
In 1988, he joined the technical services division of Royal Insurance as an engineer surveyor, a role that expanded to the training of other engineers all around the UK. In 1993, he was one of the founding partners of LECS (UK) Ltd. He is a co-author of “The Elevator & Escalator Micropedia” (1997) and “Elevator & Escalator Accident Investigation & Litigation”. (2002 & 2005) as well as being a contributor to a number of other books, including five editions of CIBSE Guide D. He is a regular columnist in trade journals worldwide, including Elevation, Elevator World, Elevatori and Lift Industry News. Media exposure includes numerous appearances on TV and radio.
He has presented at many industry seminars worldwide, including in Orlando, Thessaloniki, Munich, Shanghai, San Francisco, Melbourne, Zurich, Barcelona, Santander and Vienna, as well as numerous presentations within the UK. He is also a Founding Trustee and Chairman of the UK’s Lift Industry Charity, which assists industry members and/or their families after an accident at work. Dave also chairs the Charity that runs the Lift Symposium, having been a founder, and is an Honorary Visiting Professor at The University of East London. Dave has served on the BSI committee MHE/4 for lifts & escalators since 1989 and Chairs MCE/20 for cable cars and cableways. In 1993, Dave was awarded the Highfield Shield by the IIExE (now part of the IET) for a paper on escalator safety. In 2012, he was awarded the silver medal by CIBSE for services to the Institution. In 2021, he was awarded the Sir Moir Lockhead Award by the SOE for his 30 years of dedication to safety in the lift & escalator industry. In the same year, he was awarded a CIBSE President's Commendation for his work authoring guidance on the reoccupation of offices post-COVID lockdown. In 2023, Dave received an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours list for services to lift & escalator engineering.