New chair joins Park and MacSween on Seafish board – Fishupdate.com

A NEW Chair and two leading members of the Scottish fishing industry have been appointed to the Seafish board.

The new Chairman is to be Charles Howeson who brings a wealth of expertise to the Seafish Board as a director and a chairman (executive and non-executive) across both the public and private sectors. After a distinguished 25 year career in the Royal Navy, where he experienced the cod wars at first hand and rose to the rank of Commander, he left the service in the early 1990s at the age of 39 to begin a second career in business. He has since held a number of senior positions and has also developed and run his own businesses, latterly becoming a specialist in consumer affairs at industry level for Government.

He currently holds several private sector board appointments which include chairing the West Country based Rowe Group and Crownhill Estates. He also holds directorships of Duchy of Somerset Estates and The First Great Western Train Company. He is a member of the National Consumer Council for Water and chairman of its Western region, Patron of The Royal Naval Association (St Austell Branch) and is a Fellow of both the Institute of Directors and of the Chartered Management Institute amongst other bodies.

He said: “I am passionate about the UK fishing and seafood industry and its continuing importance within, and to, our national economy. It is an honour to have been invited to follow Andrew Dewar-Durie in the chair at a time when I am conscious that the industry itself wishes to move forwards with confidence, and after a period of reviews and significant reorganisation within Seafish.”

Mike Park and Iain MacSween join the Seafish Board to represent the interests of the fishing and seafood industry in Scotland.

Mr Park is well known across the industry in a number of roles including Executive Chairman of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, Director of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, Chairman of Box Pool Solutions, and Director of both Aberdeen Fish Producers Organisation and Seafood Scotland. Mike was at sea from a young age and spent 26 years as a skipper. He said: “I am looking forward to using the knowledge and skills I have gathered over my career towards increasing the professionalism of our industry and helping to manage its reputation which I feel is one of our biggest challenges both now and in the future.”

Mr MacSween rejoins the Seafish Board having applied formally for a further term in open competition. Based in Edinburgh, Iain is Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation and Chairman of Seafood Scotland. He has worked in the fisheries sector for nearly 30 years and has a wide range of experience covering catching, processing and international markets.He is delighted to be returning to the board table where he has been involved for the last five years in developing the plan for Seafish activities to support the industry. Iain said: “This is a crucial time for our industry and a crucial time for Seafish to play a major role towards both its profitability and sustainability. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to continue overseeing the plan we have been developing – I’m confident it will deliver what the industry needs.”

Seafish Chief Executive John Rutherford welcomed the new members to the board: “The strength of our board is absolutely paramount to our success as an organisation. As our chair for five years, Andrew Dewar-Durie has steered the Seafish Board and our strategic direction with immense skill and dedication and he leaves Seafish in a strong position for our new chairman, Charles Howeson.

“I am delighted to welcome Charles to the board along with Mike Park and Iain MacSween who will provide the particular skills and experience our board needs. I am looking forward to working with Charles and the board to build on the solid foundations based around our three strategic priorities of responsible sourcing, cost reduction and increased sales revenue to deliver to our industry.”

A final board appointment for an independent member has yet to be filled but Seafish expects the Welsh Assembly Government to announce the process for recruitment shortly.

All appointments are for three years, with effect from July 1.Remuneration for the Chair is £49,364 a year for three days a week.Remuneration for Board members is £9,122 a year, and there are currently ten board meetings a year.

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