Arlin Rickard
The Rivers Trust has announced the appointment of Mark Lloyd as its new Chief Executive.
Mark will be taking over from the current Chief Executive, Arlin Rickard (pictured left), who was instrumental in the creation of the Westcountry Rivers Trust and its first employee. He will continue to be employed by the organisation in a new role focused particularly in the area of catchment management policy.
Arlin said: “I am thrilled to welcome Mark as my successor at The Rivers Trust and will do all I can to support him and our brilliant team to ensure a seamless handover. I have thoroughly enjoyed working closely with our member trusts, partners and supporters over the years and I am immensely proud of our achievements. I know that Mark will be able to count on their support as we enter the next exciting phase of our development.”
Mark will be taking up his post in September, as head of one of the UK’s leading charities operating in the area of catchment management in the UK. The Rivers Trust represents more than 60 member River Trusts working throughout the UK and Ireland. The network delivers around £23m of catchment based projects per annum, supported by 300 staff.
Mark steps into the job after 10 years as Chief Executive of the Angling Trust & Fish Legal where he has played a transformational role, representing the UK’s three million anglers and taking legal action against polluters. Much of that work was focused on protecting water quality, a subject close to Mark’s heart. Prior to that, Mark was Chief Executive of Thames21, one the Rivers Trust’s current members. He is therefore deeply familiar with the culture, challenges and opportunities of the Rivers Trust movement.
Andrew Wallace, Chairman of the Rivers Trust said: “We are delighted that Mark has decided to return to the Rivers Trust family, to fulfil a vitally important leadership role at a critical time in the organisation’s development. The challenges facing the UK’s freshwater habitats and species are both pressing and serious. But the opportunities to reverse these declines are many and varied. Mark’s understanding of these opportunities and the skills he will bring to the organisation give us the best chance of releasing the potential of the extremely powerful network that Arlin Rickard has so impressively created over the last 25 years.”
Mark Lloyd
Mark Lloyd commented: “It is a privilege to have the chance to take on this very exciting role heading up a unique network of organisations which are leading the way in river conservation. Our rivers face numerous threats but there are also many emerging opportunities for us to build innovative partnerships to help restore them to good health.
“Arlin Rickard has done a magnificent job leading the development of the Trust network over the past 25 years and I look forward very much to working closely with him and the rest of the team to meet the challenges of the next 25 years.”
Jonathan White, Chairman of the Severn Rivers Trust and chairman elect of the Rivers Trust added: “Mark has been passionate about the cause of improving the health of our rivers since childhood. He brings to the role of Rivers Trust CEO a unique combination of practical experience of strategies to combat river degradation, a deep understanding of the legal and policy context in which the rivers trust movement operates, and a proven track record as a highly successful fundraiser and leader of a
national organisation.”