The recruitment process to appoint a new chief executive for NFU Scotland has begun – but in the interim, NFU Scotland’s board has appointed its director of policy, Jonnie Hall, as interim general manager.

The position of company secretary at NFU Scotland will be undertaken by treasurer, Rupert Shaw and national operations manager, James Buchanan,will continue to grow that role and work with the group secretary network.

Executive search specialists, Carlyle Associates, have been formally appointed to search for the next CEO and that process is already underway. It follows the resignation of Scott Walker who had worked for the organisation for 28 years and was its CEO for the past 11 years.

Read more: NFU Scotland chief executive Scott Walker resigns

President Martin Kennedy said: “I must thank all members, staff and secretaries for their continued feedback and patience during this period and I look forward to working with Carlyle Associates in engaging and recruiting our next CEO.

“The next few years will undoubtedly continue to bring challenges to our industry, and as the leading lobbying organisation for agriculture in Scotland, our job is to turn these challenges into opportunities whereby agriculture is properly recognised for all that it delivers.

“Whoever is appointed as our new Chief Executive will have a fantastic opportunity to play a key role in not only driving that message home but also to work with a great team of people to grow the business of NFU Scotland.”