Hetan is chief executive of the British Academy, the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences.

He is Chair of Our World in Data, a website providing long run data and evidence on global challenges. Hetan was appointed in 2024 by the UK Parliament to the board of the National Audit Office, the UK’s independent spending watchdog.

He is Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, Kings College London and a Fellow at Birkbeck College, University of London. Hetan serves on a number of advisory boards including at the Resolution Foundation and UCL’s Policy Lab.