| CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REPORT
Facing the future challenges © Hugh Nutt
by Teresa Dent CBE, Chief Executive
Alastair Leake, our director of policy and Sir Jim Paice, our chairman of trustees, are set to face the future policy challenges ahead. © Tim Scrivener
4 | GAME & WILDLIFE REVIEW 2018
Review2018.indd 4
Jim Paice MP joins as new chairman of trustees. Greater emphasis on policy work in all three countries. Wonderful job done by all the GWCT staff, supported by loyal members, donors and supporters. July 2018 saw the handing on of the baton; our longest serving chairman of trustees, Ian Coghill, stepped down and Sir James Paice was elected in his stead. We are enormously grateful to Ian Coghill for the eight years he was our chairman, but also for his three stints before that as a trustee. His enthusiasm for all aspects of country sports and wildlife conservation, born in his boyhood despite an urban upbringing, remained undimmed, and that passion was reflected in his extraordinary commitment, as chairman, to seeing GWCT grow, raise income and achieve good outcomes under his tenure. Ian combined a deep knowledge of the countryside and its wildlife with the ability to communicate simply but eloquently his passion for country sports, together with the contribution they make to our environment, our rural economy and our culture – the three classic pillars of sustainability. He did a wonderful job for us and we will miss him enormously. Many members will know Sir Jim Paice from his time as MP for south-east Cambridgeshire and his record as a Minister in Defra. Like Ian, Jim has had a very longstanding connection with the GWCT, with a long-term involvement as a trustee and a connection to the Trust going back to his childhood. Jim is also a passionate countryman and keen shot. Jim becomes chairman at a time when shooting is facing probably more threats and challenges than it has since the ban on hunting. Jim’s long political experience (30 years as an MP) will be extremely useful and help us steer a path over the next five years to get GWCT research into policy, achieve changes and improvements in practice, and help connect our organisation to the wider public. Looking back over 2018, the issues that stand out are mainly policy issues. The investment we made a decade ago in ensuring we had staff with the knowledge and skills to take our research into policy has proven to be an enormously valuable investment. This combines with our more recent investment in building policy work capacity in both Scotland and Wales.
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03/05/2019 14:19:39
