Poul Christensen has been named as the government's preferred candidate for the vacant post of chair of Natural England, the independent body that conserves, enhances and manages the natural environment. Christensen is currently acting chair and has been deputy chair and a board member of Natural England since 2006.

Drinks logistics firm Tradeteam has appointed Gavin Murdoch as MD. Murdoch was previously vice president of the consumer, retail and healthcare division at DHL Supply Chain in Japan. He replaces Simon Stacey, who becomes MD of DHL's consumer division.

Justine Fosh, the executive director of the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink Manufacturing, has been named as the new chair of the Strategic Network of National Skills Academies. Fosh will officially take up the post in September, replacing outgoing chair Jean Llewellyn of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear.

Mark Watt has been promoted to export sales director at Aberdeenshire-based whisky merchant Duncan Taylor. In his new role, Watt will be responsible for growing Duncan Taylor's market share and helping to identify new markets.

Leatherhead Food Research has named Dr Mary Gilsenan as head of regulatory services, Chris Brockman as market research manager and Dr Wayne Morley as ingredients and product development manager. Cindy Beeren has been promoted to sensory and consumer manager.

Functional drinks manufacturer Boost Drinks has appointed Rajinder Kaur as financial controller. Kaur joins Boost from Winburn Glass Norfolk chartered accountants and has 20 years' accountancy experience with companies including GE Capital Europe, Royal Bank of Scotland and YEDL.

Crantock Bakery has appointed Alex Batty as new product development ­technician. Batty, who previously worked as a food technologist for a company supplying Tesco and Waitrose, will be refining recipes to improve flavour and ensure the most ­efficient usage of ingredients.

Topics