Sir Jack Whitaker, former vice-president, takes over as president from Nick Halsey whose two-year term of office has ended. Sir Jack has forestry interests in Nottinghamshire, Scotland and New Zealand.
Dr Sophie Churchill OBE FICFor, chief executive of the National Forest Company, is now vice-president and Ian Dudley, associate director at Lockhart Garratt, takes over as management committee chairman from Andrew Woods of Abbey Forestry.
Accepting the presidency, Sir Jack paid tribute to Nick Halsey who has overseen a restructuring of the RFS and a move of its headquarters from Tring in Hertfordshire to the Upton Estate near Banbury.
"This is an exciting time for the RFS, as we redefine the Society to better serve the interests of our wide membership committed to the wise management of tree and woodlands," he said.
"There are three significant influences that have collided, and they give us a huge opportunity: helping woodland owners rise to the challenge of a multitude of pests and diseases; the sea change in the political landscape following the Bishop of Liverpool’s report; and the burgeoning woodfuel market which has made such a difference to lowland forestry economics."
He added that the Teaching Trees initiative was being rolled out in the north of England and during his presidency the RFS may be "raising its game over a much wider field of education".
