It's all change in Lochaber Enterprise as the board appoints a new vice chairperson and welcomes four new directors.

Karen Macgregor from Ardnamurchan first joined the board of Lochaber Enterprise in 1998 and replaces Drew McFarlane Slack as vice chairperson.  Mrs Macgregor is an active community member and until recently had run the Ardnamurchan Natural History Centre at Glenmore for almost 20 years.  She is also a working partner in her husband's photography business and was actively involved in the successful campaign to establish a secondary school for Ardnamurchan.

Commenting on her new position, Mrs Macgregor said:  "I am delighted to have been appointed vice chairwoman and am looking forward to continuing to work with my fellow board directors during what is an exciting time.  I would like to pay tribute to Drew for his hard work and commitment as vice chairman of Lochaber Enterprise and wish him luck in his new position of chairman.  My thanks also to the four outgoing board directors - our previous chairman Andy Rogers who is now a director of HIE, Andy Race, Laurence Young and Allan McLean."

Gerald McIntyre joins Lochaber Enterprise as a board director having previously been the company secretary since it formed in 1990. He owns and operates a well-known solicitors business in Lochaber. Gerald was born in Glencoe and has lived and worked in Lochaber all of his life apart from a few years in Edinburgh.  He is married with two sons.

Lochaber Smelter plant manager, Paul Henning brings 22 years of industrial experience to the Lochaber Enterprise board.  Mr Henning who is married with two children lives in Ballachulish and is responsible for the operation of Lochaber Smelter, including Kinlochleven Power Station.  He has also worked in Northumberland and Kentucky, USA.

Steve Bracken from Spean Bridge is the third new appointment to the board. A keen hillwalker and cyclist, Mr Bracken is married with two children.  He has held various positions within Marine Harvest (Scotland) Ltd since starting with them in 1977 as a fish farm supervisor. In his current role as production services manager he is responsible for overseeing company capital expenditure and managing corporate reputation for Marine Harvest in Scotland and Ireland. 

Also joining the board of Lochaber Enterprise is Scott Shiells who has worked in the timber industry since 1985 when he started as a sawyer at the Boat of Garten Sawmill for BSW Timber plc. He is now head of operations for North Scotland Sawmills and is responsible for 130 employees at Boat of Garten and Kilmallie sawmills.

Chairman of Lochaber Enterprise, Drew McFarlane Slack welcomed the new arrivals saying: "It is a particularly challenging time for the Lochaber economy and Andy has made a real difference during his six years with us as chairman.  I know Karen is more than capable of taking on the role of vice chairwoman and I look forward to continuing to work with her.

"I am also pleased to welcome Gerald, Scott, Paul and Steve to the board who bring with them a wealth of experience in a variety of sectors. My thanks go to the board directors they have replaced for their marvellous efforts over the past few years."
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