The new chief executive of Ross and Cromarty Enterprise (RACE) has taken up post with the local enterprise company (LEC).

Maitland Hyslop takes over the role from Gordon Cox, who left the LEC after six years in February to become a director at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and Joyce MacLennan, head of operations, who has been acting chief executive for the interim.

Maitland brings a wealth of business experience to the post following a diverse career that has emphasised development and security. He began his working life in farming and fishing, before joining the army as an officer in the Royal Logistic Corps and Parachute Brigade.

He left the army in 1982 and embarked on several senior management posts, which included running his own real estate company, managing Tetra Pak's Nigerian and African paper and packaging operations and working in the oil and gas industry. He has also worked for the Northern Development Company and the regional development agency for the North East of England One NorthEast.

Maitland has held several senior posts in the ICT (information communications technology) sector, including head of knowledge information and ICT at One NorthEast. He is currently an expert adviser to the EC's European Network and Information Security Agency, a member of the Politech Institute's Science Committee, a director of the European Telecommunications Resilience and Recovery Association, and a member of the American Armed Forces' Communication and Electronics Association. He is also a trustee of an eLearning charity, The North East eLearning Foundation.

Maitland holds international, national and regional awards for business development, marketing and innovation. In October 2004 he was named by NOP/eConsultancy as one of the UK's top 100 eEntrepreneurs of the decade for his public service work. He holds international, national and regional awards for business development, marketing and innovation

Chairman of RACE, Clifford Davison, said: "While we were sorry to lose Gordon, all of us at RACE are very much looking forward to working with Maitland, who will bring a great deal of valuable experience to the LEC. I would also like to thank Joyce for her superb contribution in fulfilling this role during the past few months."

Welcoming Maitland to the Network, HIE chief executive Sandy Cumming said: "We are delighted that Maitland is joining the Network. He has an impressive breadth of experience in the private, public and academic sectors and I am sure his talents will be a great asset to the businesses and communities of Ross and Cromarty."

Maitland said: "I am, with the RACE team, very much looking forward to the challenge of building on my predecessors' work in developing enterprise and, of course, meeting and working with as many of the local business and community representatives as possible. Ross and Cromarty is a region of outstanding potential in terms of innovation, growth and quality and I am delighted to have the opportunity to live and work in such fantastic surroundings."
 
Maitland is both a graduate and post-graduate of Durham University, a post-graduate of Huddersfield University Business School and has attended business courses at both Harvard and the IMD (International Institute for Management Development). He has been a tutor at Durham University and recently a research fellow in telecommunications security at Northumbria University.
 
His family originally comes from Dumfries and the Black Isle. He is married with two teenage children, both of whom represent Great Britain in Wild Water kayaking. He is the junior development manager for GB Wild Water kayaking and a former rugby, rowing and, currently, a kayak coach. He has written over 50 professional articles and books on diverse subjects as well as three children's books about the Loch Ness Monster and Drumnadrochit.