Former head of news at BBC Scotland to chair salmon producers’ group

Atholl Duncan, the former head of news at BBC Scotland, has been appointed as the new chair of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO).

The former executive director of accountancy body Icas will take up his post next month, replacing Gilpin Bradley, the managing director of Wester Ross Fisheries, who took on the role of chair on a temporary basis two years ago.

Duncan – a qualified executive coach who works with senior corporate leaders in the Middle East, Europe and the US – is currently the chairman of UK Coaching, the national body for sports coaches, and is a former chair of the British Horseracing Authority.

He said: “It is a great privilege for me to work with a farming sector which is the UK’S leading food exporter and contributes so much in terms of economic and social value.

“I look forward to helping the sector’s leaders to fulfil their ambitious growth plans and to working with the local communities, politicians and regulators who all have such an important stake in the continued development of Scottish salmon.”

He added: “The Scottish farmed salmon sector is world leading today and keen to play an even larger part in the economic development of Scotland in the future.

“But we fully appreciate the challenges of doing that in a way which is sympathetic to the communities we work in, while embracing the new regulatory and environmental standards being developed wherever the sector operates around the world.”

Julie Hesketh-laird, chief executive of the SSPO, said: “The SSPO was looking for someone with undoubted leadership skills, a passion for high performance as well as experience of international business.”