Graham Wilkinson has been announced as the new chief executive officer of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

Wilkinson currently works as vice president of Arla Foods’ Agriculture division, where he has supported over 8,500 cooperative farmer owners and managed the delivery of commercial milk concepts on farm. He is set to leave Arla in the New Year, replacing Tim Rycroft as he leaves in December.

Having worked in roles within Tesco Plc and Arla, Wilkinson is close to the industry, and has a history of working with his family on their farm in the north east of England. According to AHDB, he is “a passionate leader and strong advocate of British Food and Farming”.

Wilkinson commented: “I am excited to join AHDB, an organisation that I have a deep appreciation for and huge respect for its fantastic team.

“My passion is working with farmers, for farmers and with my experience, I see this as a great opportunity to drive greater impact and success for all levy payers to help create a world class food and farming industry.”

Nicholas Saphir, chair of AHDB said: “We are thrilled to welcome Graham to AHDB with his passion for farming, his impressive leadership skills and vast industry knowledge.

“We believe he is the ideal candidate to lead AHDB into the next exciting phase of our growth, putting levy payers at the heart of our work and maximising the impact of the work we do. Thank you to Arla for supporting a smooth transition.”

The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) has welcomed the announcement, with a spokesperson saying: “After many years of CEOs not coming from a farming background we welcome the announcement that Graham Wilkinson, currently global vice president – agriculture at Arla Foods, is to become the new CEO at AHDB.

“AHDB has appeared to have been in a state of flux over the last couple of years and we trust that Graham will get it back onto the front foot in terms of championing the levy payer.”