Roy Kirk has been appointed to the post of inward investment manager by the Caithness Regeneration Partnership. The role has been created to assist Caithness and North Sutherland's economy through the effects of the Dounreay nuclear plant's run-down.
Mr Kirk was selected by a panel made up of the three lead agencies in the partnership, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highland Council and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). He will become a HIE employee. He takes on the post from his current position with Scottish Development International - the Scottish Executive's inward investment and trade promotion arm.
The Caithness appointment is part of an action plan agreed by the partners and will be complemented by a further co-ordinator post together with administrative assistance.
Mr Kirk has over 20 years' experience with the Scottish Executive and during his time at the SDI led a team which negotiated Donald Trump's commitment to apply for planning permission to develop a £1bn golf development near Aberdeen.
His specialist port folios have included rural economic diversification, food and drink, renewable energy and foreign direct investment in Scottish tourism. He has, in the past, worked closely with Manpower - a significant employer in Thurso.
Commenting on his appointment Carroll Buxton, area director of HIE Caithness and Sutherland said: "We are delighted that someone of Roy Kirk's calibre will be joining the partnership during the critical years ahead for Caithness and North Sutherland. We look forward to working with him to develop some exciting prospects we have identified and to pursuing new opportunities with him."
Alistair Dodds, chief executive designate of The Highland Council said: "Roy has just the range of experience we had hoped to bring to this post. He has ideal qualities to build on the groundwork already achieved by the partnership agencies and I know he will receive great support from us all in his work to attract inward investment to the area."
And John Farquhar of the NDA welcomed the news: "I'm delighted by Roy's appointment. This is tangible evidence that real action is being taken to help the Caithness and North Sutherland community build a prosperous future in which there is no Dounreay. Of course there is a big job to do now and the team being built by the HIE-Council-NDA partnership will need the enthusiastic support of the local community if it is to succeed."
Mr Kirk hails from Glasgow and currently lives outside Edinburgh. He and his wife Elizabeth have four grown-up children, and intend to live permanently in Caithness when he has settled into the job which he takes up in August. A keen climber and hillwalker Mr Kirk has reached the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro twice and recently returned from a climbing trip in South America.