Dr Charlotte Evans has been appointed as Head of Engagement – Pork at AHDB

Charlotte is no stranger to AHDB, having worked for both AHDB and BPEX (the predecessor of AHDB Pork) earlier in her career. She has a broad knowledge of the pig industry and its stakeholders, as well as extensive experience in leading and delivering collaborative programmes in the pork sector.

She gained a PhD in 2009 specialising in infectious diseases in pigs, which was funded by BPEX. She worked on a 1,000-sow pig farm before joining BPEX, where she worked for eight years. Since then, she has focused on the practical application of nutritional knowledge with ForFarmers and, latterly, DSM.

Charlotte brings with her a practical and technical background, as well as extensive knowledge of the landscape and network of the industry. She takes up her new role in mid-November.

Charlotte commented: "I am really pleased to be re-joining AHDB during this important time of transition for the industry. I look forward to implementing some of the ideas shared during the Shape the Future vote by working with the wider AHDB, sector council and producers. I intend to bring the same practical background, together with additional skills and experience, from the commercial sector in managing tight resources, working across many different multi-disciplinary teams and measuring and monitoring the success of different types of commercial, technical and marketing activities."

The Head of Engagement role incorporates responsibilities from the Head of Knowledge Exchange role held by Jen Waters, who leaves AHDB on 23 September. It also picks up additional responsibilities in three main areas as a result of the sector director role being removed from the organisation’s structure. Charlotte will be responsible for liaison with the Pork Sector Chair and Sector Council. She will act as a commentator, media spokesperson and platform speaker for the pork sector, and be responsible for the development and leadership of tracking levy payer and stakeholder engagement measures for the Pork Knowledge Exchange team.