The chief executive of Inverness and Nairn Enterprise (INE), Bill Sylvester, is to be seconded to Inverness Highland 2008, the company spearheading the bid to win the title of European Capital of Culture for the area.

Mr. Sylvester will take over as project manager from Bryan Beattie, who leaves this month to take up a four year contract as Director of Cork 2005, the company overseeing Cork's celebration of being the European Capital of Culture.

A former army lieutenant colonel, Mr. Sylvester joined INE as chief executive in 1999, following two years with Highlands and Islands Enterprise as head of tourism.  He was brought up in Perthshire and is a graduate of Durham University.

HIE chief executive, Sandy Cumming, said the secondment is part of the enterprise network's commitment to supporting the culture bid.  He added:  "Bill has contributed to the project from the start, with Inverness and Nairn Enterprise leading the network's involvement, so there is really no-one better placed to take over from Bryan Beattie and maintain the momentum.  It is crucial that we continue our support for this important project, which stands to bring huge benefits to the Highlands as a whole in terms of jobs,
tourism and investment, and of course confidence among the great many communities affected."

Inverness Highland 2008 chairman, Councillor David Green, also welcomed the announcement.  He said:  "We are delighted to have Bill on board. He has been doing some excellent work recently with the bid team, most notably in progressing our concordat with the key agencies in Scotland."

It is hoped that Inverness Highland will be included on the short-list for the title, which is to be announced by the end of the year.  There will then be a period of up to six months before the winner is selected.

Bill believes that the campaign to date has generated many great ideas, which, he says, must be explored further.

He added:  "This is one of the most exciting projects to emerge in the Highlands in recent years and I am delighted to be taking up the post of project manager.   Bryan has done a great job so far and I have enjoyed working with him and the bid team.  The team is now working flat-out to ensure that all the best ideas are worked up and that new ideas keep coming in.  Inverness Highland is in an excellent position to be optimistic about its chances in this competition.  And whether we ultimately do win the title or not, the important ideas should still be brought into the mainstream of planning and development."