The National Trust has announced that its chief operating officer Hilary McGrady will become its new director general, taking over the role from Helen Ghosh in March.
Ghosh announced in July last year that she would be stepping down from the top role at the conservation charity to become master of Balliol College at Oxford University.
McGrady has worked at the National Trust for 12 years, holding the role of chief operating officer for the last four. In this role she was responsible for the operation, care and management of all National Trust places in England, Wales and Northern Ireland comprising almost 250,000 hectares of countryside, 778 miles of coastline and more than 500 historic buildings.
Tim Parker, chair of the National Trust, said: “The decision to appoint Hilary was made by the board of trustees and I am pleased to say the decision was unanimous.
“Hilary’s appointment followed a rigorous selection process during which we considered a range of excellent candidates from a variety of different backgrounds and organisations.
“I look forward to working closely with Hilary over the coming years and know she will do an outstanding job leading the Trust.”
On her appointment, McGrady said: “I am immensely proud to have been appointed as director general of the National Trust. This is a charity I love because it looks after the things that matter to me personally, the outdoors, the arts, heritage, nature and beauty.
“But more importantly these are things that I believe matter to the nation which is why we have five million members and many more supporters. I am looking forward to building on that support and inspiring even more people to look after the places that matter to them.”
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