 Simon Hodge FICFor has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer for Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES), the agency that manages 665,000 hectares of national forest land.
Currently, Simon holds the post of Head of Policy within Forestry Commission Scotland and he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters. He will take up his new role in early December from his successor Dr Hugh Insley who is retiring. Simon said: “Hugh Insley will be a hard act to follow but this is an exciting time to be taking the lead in managing the national forest estate. It will be a privilege to work with the first class FES team to deliver more from Scotland's forests in areas as diverse as climate change, rural economic development and urban regeneration.” As Head of Policy for four years, Simon has taken forward a number of important developments in the forestry sector, including policy development in climate change, carbon management, energy forestry and urban regeneration. He also developed the Scottish Government’s Rationale for Woodland Creation and advised ministers on all aspects of forestry policy. A key policy that Simon has also spearheaded is the flagship Woods in and Around Towns initiative. Under his leadership, around £35 million has been invested in bringing back to life many local woodlands for the benefit of communities and the surrounding environment. Prior to this, Simon was a social policy adviser within the Commission and spent six years as a Forest District Manager in Argyll. He also undertook periods of work in Forest Research where he focused on woodland ecology and urban forestry. Simon is married with two children. He is an active church member and co-ordinates rural development projects in East Africa for the Africa Fund. A keen outdoors person, Simon enjoys running, mountain biking, hill walking and photography. |
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