Former transport boss Sir Moir Lockhead has been unveiled as the new chairman of Scotland’s largest conservation charity.
The 69-year-old, who lives on Deeside, will take on the role at the National Trust for Scotland from Sir Kenneth Calman, who retires next year.
Sir Moir, who founded FirstGroup Aberdeen and steered it to become a leading transport operator in the UK and North America, will lead the board of trustees at NTS as they set a vision and plan to secure the long-term future of the charity.
He said: “Heritage means a great deal to me – I am fascinated by the stories of people and places and how we were all shaped by our environment and our past.
“I am relishing the chance to join this wonderful charity and help it discharge its vital roles of caring for and promoting Scotland’s legacy to the world.
“Ken Calman will be a hard act to follow. He has guided the trust away from its most difficult of times and established the foundations for an assured and vibrant future. I look forward to building on his achievements, and those of many dedicated volunteers and staff, and helping the trust to reach a new level where it will earn its rightful place in hearts of all Scots and all who care about Scotland.”
NTS said Sir Moir’s reputation of “making things happen” would make him an ideal chairman.
Lesley Knox, chairwoman of the NTS’s nominations committee, said: “Sir Moir’s record of leadership, his ability to motivate staff and volunteers and his wide experience of business, academia and not for profit organisations will be of enormous benefit to the National Trust for Scotland.”
Sir Moir, who is also chairman of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), was born in a mining village in County Durham, and first came to Scotland in 1979 to be Glasgow City’s transport chief engineer.
In 1985, he joined Grampian Regional Transport and led a management and employee buyout three years later.
As chief executive of Aberdeen-headquartered FirstGroup, Sir Moir steered it to becoming a multinational £6billion business.
He was made an OBE in 1996 for services to the bus industry, and knighted in 2008. In 2010, he was awarded the VisitScotland Silver Thistle Award for outstanding services to the tourism industry in Scotland.
Sir Moir retired from FirstGroup in late 2010, and now divides his time between cattle farming on his family’s estate and the SRU.