Changes to the senior management structure of three local enterprise companies have been announced by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

Last week, HIE unveiled plans for a major organisational review which will see three of its current local enterprise companies (LECs) merging into two.

One new LEC will serve the area currently covered by Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise (INBSE), plus Easter Ross and the Black Isle. The second will serve the area currently covered by Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise (SALE), plus Wester Ross.

While Ross and Cromarty Enterprise (RACE) will no longer exist, the current Network office in Invergordon is being retained as part of the merged LEC arrangements.

It has now been decided that the two chief executives of the new LECs will be Robert Muir, the present chief executive of Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise, and Stuart Black, currently INBSE chief executive.

The post of RACE chief executive, which has been held by Maitland Hyslop since August last year, is being made redundant with immediate effect.

HIE chief executive Sandy Cumming said: “A great deal of careful consideration has gone into getting the structure of our Network right so we are best placed to tackle the challenges of economic and community development in the Highlands and Islands over the next 20 years.

 “The new LEC structures better reflect the local economies of the areas they will serve and greatly enhance the Network's capability to plan strategically in both areas.”