Professional standards body BASIS has appointed Andrew Lazenby as its new chief executive. He succeeds Stephen Jacob who heads up the new Institute of Agricultural and Horticulture (TIAH) training initiative from this month.
Mr Lazenby was formerly chief executive of the Royal Agricultural Society of England since 2018, and of its Innovation for Agriculture (IFA) initiative. He started his career in the food industry with Grampian Country Foods, moving to Geest and Vitacress and more recently as head of commercial for the Waitrose farms at Leckford in Hampshire.
In his new role he will work to build and sustain BASIS core membership activities and consolidate and drive a range of new digital opportunities throughout the agricultural sector and further afield.
“We are seeing a switch to regenerative agricultural practices – with ELMs appearing over the horizon there’s a huge opportunity for what BASIS does and what it can, and will, offer in the future,” says Mr Lazenby.
“This new role is a unique opportunity for me to help grow both the service offering and geographical reach of BASIS and we will, quite quickly, bring to market new products and extend our reach into new areas.”
BASIS chair William Burgess adds: “Andrew brings extensive expertise from his previous CEO roles and his proven track record for leadership in this sector will stand us in good stead.”