Nicholas Lionel Hardwick CBE (born 19 July 1957) is a British executive who has led UK-based charities and criminal justice organisations.

[citation needed] He was educated at Epsom College and the University of Hull, where he earned a third class honours degree in English literature in 1979.

[5] Hardwick was appointed in December 2002 as the chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, taking office in February 2003; the IPCC existed in shadow form from 1 April 2003, and formally replaced the Police Complaints Authority on 1 April 2004.

[6] As IPCC chair he defended its investigations which included enquiries into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes and the policing of the 2009 G20 London summit protests.

Hardwick was appointed chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales in March 2016, and resigned on 28 March 2018 following a successful legal challenge which led to the quashing of the Parole Board decision to release John Worboys from prison on licence.