AHDB has appointed Phil Hadley to the new post of international market development director in a bid to reinforce its export drive.
In his new role, Dr Hadley, who is currently the levy body’s head of global supply chain development, will lead AHDB’s 24-strong exports, market access and overseas teams to deliver its export marketing programmes. The pig sector has benefited significantly in recent years from AHDB’s work in helping to secure new export openings, notably in China.
He said: “This is an exciting time for UK exports and AHDB’s talents and expertise in terms of international marketing and trade access will become increasingly important in the coming years.
“We will face some challenges as we seek to maintain our position as a leading exporter to Europe and grow our reach in Third Country markets. I look forward to working with stakeholders across the supply chains to deliver positive outcomes for all the sectors represented by AHDB.”
Dr Hadley joined AHDB in 2004 as South West regional development manager and has since worked in several roles within the organisation. He has strong experience in seeking and securing access to global markets, linking with exporters, UK Government departments and their overseas equivalents to deliver technical solutions and negotiate export approval.
AHDB’s new Inspiring Success strategy, which runs until 2020, makes a clear commitment to facilitating and developing exports markets. It already has a range of exports initiatives, levaraging a number of new opportunities and market access in emerging markets such as China, North Africa and Asia Pacific.
Christine Watts, AHDB chief communications and market development officer, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Phil to this new post, which is an important step in achieving our vision of a world-class industry competing with the very best.
“Working with the team at home and internationally to access and develop new markets and support the growth of exports for our farmers, growers and processors is now more critical than ever.”