David Balharry has been appointed new boss of the John Muir Trust
The John Muir Trust has appointed a respected conservationist and keen mountaineer as its new chief executive.
David Balharry will take over from Andrew Bachell when he steps down in January.
Mr Balharry will join the conservation charity from the Scottish Government, where he is responsible for looking at rural policy.
The trust’s new boss lives in the village of Cannich and grew up Kinlochewe, Newtonmore and Alford. He has also been a director of Rewilding Britain and previously worked for six years for the Crofters Commission, latterly as acting chief executive, and as technical director of the Deer Commission for Scotland.
Mr Balharry studied zoology at Aberdeen University and went on to do a PhD on the ecology of pine martens. He is a director of the Strathglass and Affric Community Company and promotes community action planning that links with land management.
In his spare time he enjoys mountaineering, sea kayaking and building log cabins. He is a former manager of Strathglass Shinty Club and played for both Strathglass and Newtonmore.
He said: “I believe it’s an absolute necessity that we protect wild places, particularly by empowering people and engaging rural communities. The John Muir Trust works at the forefront of issues I’ve been passionate about my whole life.
“I’m looking forward to starting, and engaging with members, partners, staff, trustees and those people and organisations that share common interests with us.”
Peter Pearson, chair of the John Muir Trust, said: “We are all delighted that David will be joining the trust team and look forward to working with him.”
He also thanked Andrew Bachell for his successful two years as chief executive and said: “We wish Andrew well in his retirement.
“He leaves the organisation in as healthy a situation as we’ve been in for some time. During his time with us he oversaw a new strategy, built an effective staff team and continued growth in our support and membership.”
David Balharry will take up his role on 27 January after a climbing trip to Patagonia where he and his son will attempt Cerro Torre, one of the spires in the southern Patagonian ice field of South America. Standing at 3,128 m (10,262 ft), the peak is challenging and the summit is protected by some of the world’s most spectral ice mushrooms.
The trust said that, until then, leadership is being shared by the organisation’s management team, supported by the trustees.
