Scotland Food & Drink, the industry leadership body for the £16bn sector, has appointed John Donnelly as its new Membership and Commercial Director. 

Previously John has held senior roles including CEO of Marketing Edinburgh, Commercial Director for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Interim Head of Marketing and Commercial at Scottish Rugby Union, and most recently, as a marketing and strategy consultant.

John brings more than 30 years' experience in marketing and commercial strategy, strengthening the senior leadership team at Scotland Food & Drink.

Scotland Food & Drink has more than 450 members from across the industry and the country. John, as part of his role, will support the development and delivery of a new membership strategy that will improve members' experience and create increased opportunities for sustainable growth across member businesses. 

He will be responsible for improving the commercial performance of the organisation to the benefit of members, accessing new sponsorship and commercial partnership opportunities to seek increased collaboration within the industry and further afield. 

John's will lead the business development activity for Scotland Food & Drink and his appointment follows changes and growth within the team. Tracy Cameron has stepped into the role of Scotland Food & Drink's Interim Head of the Business Development, as she continues to represent members in the Highlands and Islands. The organisation is also recruiting for an East of Scotland business development manager, and is once again partnering with Opportunity North East (ONE) to soon recruit a joint-funded North East Business Development Manager.

Iain Baxter, Chief Executive at Scotland Food & Drink, said: "John joins Scotland Food & Drink at a really exciting time for both the organisation and the wider industry. We are improving our offering for our members to maximise the support that we can offer them to drive responsible growth throughout the sector.

"Unlocking new opportunities and improving our commercial engagement with businesses from across the economy will help us to deliver on the objectives set out in our national strategy, 'Sustaining Scotland. Supplying the World.'. It's a privilege to have John, and his many years of experience, on board to help us achieve that."

John Donnelly, Membership and Commercial Director at Scotland Food & Drink, said: "Food and drink is one of Scotland's most exciting and innovative industries, but in order to support it and allow it to flourish, we need to unlock the commercial opportunities that are out there.

"I'm looking forward to working with Iain and the whole team at Scotland Food & Drink to deliver a great service and value for money for our members, and to support the whole sector to achieve its potential."

For further information, please visit: foodanddrink.scot.