NEWS RELEASE
Date: 14 March 2008
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Animal Health – appointment of interim Chief Executive
Professor Steve Edwards, formerly Chief Executive of the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, has been appointed as interim Chief Executive of Animal Health. He succeeds Glenys Stacey who has taken up an appointment as Chief Executive of the Standards Board for England. A permanent replacement as Chief Executive will be recruited during the next few months.
Prof. Edwards has considerable veterinary and management experience having worked for Defra, or its predecessor department, for nearly 28 years in both veterinary research and management positions.
As Chief Executive, Prof. Edwards will be personally responsible to Defra Ministers for the delivery of Animal Health’s annual performance targets, and to Parliament for ensuring propriety in management of public funds. He will lead the work begun by his predecessor to guide Animal Health through significant organisational changes, not least implementing the Agency’s Business Reform Programme, which during 2008 will begin to modernise Animal Health’s operating model.
During this time Animal Health will participate in the developing debate on cost and responsibility sharing and on developing animal health and welfare policies, for example in relation to bluetongue and bovine tuberculosis, whilst continuing to deliver an effective capability to respond to outbreaks of exotic and endemic animal disease in order to protect public health and deliver a successful and sustainable livestock industry.
Notes to editors
Biographical Note
Steve Edwards qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1972, followed by four years in general farm practice, before gaining a scholarship from the Ministry of Overseas Development (now the Department for International Development) to study an MSc in Tropical Veterinary Science at the University of Edinburgh in 1977. This led to two years with the ODA British Veterinary Team in El Salvador, and a further tour in Bolivia, before joining the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) as a Research Officer.
Prof. Edwards’ research areas include viral respiratory diseases of cattle (with a special interest in infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR)), developing virological laboratory skills within the Veterinary Investigation Service (now part of the VLA), and heading up the Pestivirus and Pig Virology Section in the Virology Department. He has also been actively involved for many years with the OIE, the World Organisation for Animal Health, based in Paris.
Animal Health
Animal Health is an Executive Agency of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). It works across Great Britain on behalf of Defra, the Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly Government, and for the Food Standards Agency.
Working collaboratively with the industry, delivery partners and policy makers, Animal Health is responsible for leading the control of notifiable animal diseases on the ground, because of their economic or public health consequences, and for delivering Government’s wider objectives in animal health and welfare, and in wildlife conservation.
For further information:
www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth
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Page published: 14 March 2008