CEDR chief executive, Karl Mackie, became the first recipient of a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for ‘services to mediation’ in June 2010.

The award is recognition for Karl's work for CEDR and the wider mediation market over a 20-year period.

Offering his congratulations, CEDR chairman, Sir Peter Middleton, said, “This is an outstanding recognition for the achievements of CEDR in the last 20 years and for Karl personally.”

Dr Mackie has been CEDR's only chief executive since the organisation was founded with the support of the CBI in 1990. He is acknowledged to be one of the world’s leading practitioners in mediation and has mediated high-level disputes since 1980.

Dr Mackie has worked with numerous international governments and professional bodies at CEDR, such as the United Nations, the European Commission, World Bank and International Finance Corporation, UNCITRAL, and many companies and government departments. Most recently he personally consulted with the Federal Government of India on how to establish its own International Mediation Centre.