R. David Pittle has dedicated his career to advancing the interests of consumers in the marketplace, with special emphasis on reducing death and injury from the use of consumer products. He received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, where he served as Principal Investigator for a National Science Foundation Research Grant on “Improving Consumer Safety Through Innovative Consumer Education.” He then taught at Carnegie-Mellon University.

In Pittsburgh, Pittle also helped found and served as president of the Alliance for Consumer Protection.  Based on his academic research and his experience as a consumer leader, in 1973 Pittle was selected as one of the original five commissioners of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).  In his nine-year tenure on the Commission – serving under four presidents – he focused special attention on reducing deaths and injuries associated with chain saws, lawn mowers, electric hairdryers, CB antennas, flammable fabrics, toys, upholstered furniture, toxic chemicals, and products posing electrocution hazards in general.

In 1982, Pittle was appointed Technical Director of Consumers Union (CU), publisher of Consumer Reports, where he supervised 50 product-testing labs and 327-acre auto testing facility and test track.  In 2001, he was appointed Senior Vice-President for Technical Policy at CU, where he was the organization’s lead spokesman and advocate on product safety, automotive safety, and product quality, among other issues.  During his tenure, which ended with his retirement in 2005, Pittle not only oversaw the development of Consumers Union’s policy positions on technical and safety issues, but also advocated these positions externally, including numerous press interviews, conferences, and congressional testimonies.

Since 2005, Pittle has continued to work on product safety issues, especially standard-setting, with a number of nonprofit organizations.  He has been elected to the governing boards of the American National Standards Institute (2006-2023), Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (2007-2024), and to the Executive Committee of ASTM’s F-15 Committee on Consumer Products.  In 2011, he was named member emeritus on the Underwriters’ Laboratories Consumer Advisory Council.  In 2017, he was elected to the Board of Governors of the Consumer Product Safety Certification Services, an affiliate of the Society of Product Safety Professionals.