SSPO announce Chief Executive to step down

The Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO) Chief Executive, Julie Hesketh-Laird, has announced her decision to leave the organisation in the autumn.

Hesketh-Laird was appointed to her role in February 2018. She has led the organisation during a period of great change and success for the sector. Under her leadership, the SSPO has established itself as a prominent and credible voice in the Scottish food and drink sector, putting Scotland and the UK’s No.1 food export in sharp focus for stakeholders and in the media. Hesketh-Laird has built firm foundations for stronger relationships between the SSPO and salmon farming sector with important stakeholders, from the government to regulators and environmental organisations.

She said:

\’I have greatly enjoyed working with my team at the SSPO and taking forward the cause of the salmon farming sector which is so important to Scotland and highly regarded in overseas markets. We have come a very long way in recent years, and I am proud to have achieved such good progress. As the sector emerges from the challenges of the Covid-19 crisis, it is a good time to move on and take on fresh challenges. Salmon farming is now strongly positioned to play a central role in Scotland’s economic recovery\’.

SSPO Chair Atholl Duncan Said:

\’We are very grateful to Julie for all the progress that has been made under her leadership. We wish her well for the future and we are now well positioned to build on the stability and strategic focus which she has brought to the SSPO.\’

Her departure will take place in September 2020.