Vice President and Technical Director, Consumer ReportsLiam McCormack is Vice President and Technical Director of Consumers Union (CU), an expert, independent, nonprofit organization
whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers. CU publishes
Consumer Reports and ConsumerReports.org.
As Technical Director, Mr. McCormack is responsible for all consumer-product testing at CU, overseeing the staff and operations
in more than 50 specialized labs at
Consumer Reports’ National Testing and Research Center in Yonkers, NY. He also oversees operations at CR’s 327-acre Auto Test Center in East
Haddam, CT; the largest independent consumer automobile testing center in the world.
He previously spent an 18-year tenure at
Which?, where he was the organization’s Head of Research.
Which? is the United Kingdom’s pre-eminent product testing, research, and consumer advocacy organization that, like CU, produces
a monthly magazine, web site and other publications and advocates on consumer policy issues.
As Head of Research at
Which?, he oversaw the development of technical and research content for
Which? magazine, its Web site, and other
Which? information products. Mr. McCormack worked closely with technical staff to develop and refine test processes and methodologies
and was responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the results.
Early in his career, Mr. McCormack specialized in topics including car safety and security. He conducted undercover investigations
of the service standards at garages and tire repair shops. As a researcher, he conducted one of the UK's first tests of the
standard of advice given by lawyers on consumer issues, concluding that only a small fraction got it right. This research
caused a major stir among the public and legal profession. Throughout his career, Mr. McCormack has been driven by a passion
to ensure that consumers are treated fairly by the companies and professionals they deal with in their day-to-day lives.
Prior to joining
Which?, Mr. McCormack served in the UK’s Office of Fair Trading, a government department established to improve the welfare of consumers.