Experienced agri-food and animal health specialist, Dawn Howard, has been named as the new chief executive officer of the National Office of Animal Health (NOAH).
Taking over from current CEO, Phil Sketchley, who will be leaving NOAH after 13 years in the post to take planned early retirement from a full time role in animal health, Ms Howard (pictured) will move into her new role on November 11.
“This will be a challenging time for NOAH members with the long-awaited regulatory changes finally on the horizon,” she said. “However, I am confident that NOAH will continue to be a strong voice for the animal health industry and I am looking forward to working with our members and professional colleagues to secure a healthy future.”
Ms Howard’s agri-food and animal health experience includes heading EFFAB, the European body for commercial farm animal breeding organisations, and representing UK agricultural interests in Brussels at the British Agriculture Bureau. Earlier in her career she worked in Defra’s plant health inspectorate before moving on to deal with plant health policy, the pesticides safety directorate and finally animal health and welfare policy in Westminster.
In addition to issuing a warm welcome to the new CEO, NOAH chairman, David Ellerton, paid tribute to Mr Sketchley, for his “fantastic work” in building a “professional association which is both respected and admired by its members and other organisations”.