Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), the rural business organisation, announced on Tuesday the election of a new chairman, Mark Tennant.
Mark Tennant and his family run the Innes Estate in Moray. He is a former chairman of Scottish Financial Enterprise and former deputy chairman of the Scottish Government’s financial services advisory board.
Mark said: “It is with very great pleasure that I take on the role as SLE Chairman. It is a great honour and will present some very interesting challenges in the coming few years.
“I will be working on several key issues and top of the list is ensuring Scotland’s rural businesses and communities are provided with all the information and help they need, ensuring they climb out as sure footed as possible from the appalling damage which Covid-19 has done.”
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He went on to say: “Our farming members continue to provide a crucial service to Scotland through feeding the nation and we are hearing many wonderful stories of how others are helping their local communities at a time when their own businesses are impacted.
“Amidst the horror of this pandemic, we need to recognise that Brexit has not gone away. Our members’ businesses across rural Scotland and the wider communities will be deeply affected by how the negotiations turn out. I will be doing all I can to ensure rural Scotland is considered as the Brexit story continues to unfold.
“The situation we are in as a country at the moment should not allow us to forget the target of net zero carbon emissions the Scottish Government has set, and the crucial role land managers will need to play in achieving it, such as using land as a carbon sink to drain greenhouse gas emissions.
“Over the coming months as we enter the ‘new normal’, we have the opportunity to consider how the way we do business could play a crucial role in fighting climate change.”
At Tuesday’s AGM, Mark thanked David for all his work on behalf of SLE members and wider rural Scotland during his six years in the role.
“David has already carried out valuable work in many areas and provided a superb platform on which I can build. For over 110 years Scottish Land & Estates has been helping rural Scotland thrive and I will continue this mission.”
Mark’s family business, Innes Estate in Elgin, has been a member of SLE for over 40 years. During that time Mark has been a member of the organisation’s Highland Committee twice as well as Vice-Chair (Policy) since 2018.
Also at the AGM, Hugh Campbell Adamson and Sarah-Jane Laing were reappointed as Directors and members of the Board.
Three new Directors and members of the Board were appointed:
- Andrew Douglas Miller, Managing Partner of Forneth Estate, near Blairgowrie.
- Lucy Laidlaw, a communications and community engagement specialist who spent the past nine years working at Buccleuch.
- Derek Lewis, who owns and runs the Drimnin Estate on the western tip of the Morvern peninsula, just north of the Isle of Mull.
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