A new team leader has been appointed to head the task force set up by HIE Moray to tackle the effects of job losses in Moray.

Mhairi Begg, who has worked with the Moray Task Force as a development manager since January, takes up the team leader's role with immediate effect.

Prior to joining HIE Moray, Mhairi, who holds an honours degree in economics from Aberdeen University, worked for economic and strategy consultancy cogentsi, initially as an economic analyst and consultant and rising to managing director. While with cogentsi, she worked with HIE Moray and other partner organisations in drafting Moray 2020, the recently launched strategy aimed at diversifying the area's economy.

Mhairi has also previously worked for Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway, where, among a number of strategically important projects, she was involved in planning for recovery after that area's economy was badly affected by the foot and mouth disease outbreak.

The task force was set up last year, at the request of the First Minister, Jack McConnell, to address some of the worst blows experienced by the Moray economy, including the announcement that 900 jobs were due to go at the RAF stations at Kinloss and Lossiemouth as well as 300 at Grampian Country Foods in Buckie.

The role of the task force team, which is based in Horizon Scotland at The Enterprise Park, Forres, is to co-ordinate a number of key priorities, including identifying opportunities to diversify and increase the performance of the Moray economy, helping improve the area's entrepreneurial culture and increasing business competitiveness.

The team was previously headed by Alan MacLennan, who recently took up the Forres-based post of technology diversification manager with the MoD's Defence Diversification Agency.

James Gibbs, chief executive of HIE Moray, said: "We are delighted to have appointed Mhairi from within the team to this pivotal post.

"An experienced economic development professional, she has extensive knowledge of the changing nature of Moray's economy, and the enthusiasm and drive to, along with her team and our partner organisations, tackle the challenges we face.

"Having been with the team from the start, she is ideally placed to continue to build on what has already been achieved by the task force."

Mhairi said: "One of the main challenges for us is to initiate new projects to secure economic benefits for the Moray economy from the RAF bases. We want to see Moray businesses gaining the maximum benefit from the highly trained and skilled people leaving the bases.

"There is genuine enthusiasm on all sides for this kind of increased interaction as was shown by the recent Moray New Directions jobs fair, which had an excellent response from RAF leavers, employers and the RAF.

"The Defence Diversification Agency will be an important partner agency in the development of new projects and initiatives and we will be working very closely with Alan MacLennan in his new role."