Guide Dogs for the Blind has appointed a NATO strategist as its new chief executive.

Richard Leaman will start on 29 March, taking over from Bridget Warr who is leaving after six years of service to pursue other interests.

Leaman said: “Guide Dogs is a great organisation. I wanted to do something amazing, and this was an organisation that I knew I would be proud to lead.”

Leaman has a military background, and has previously worked in the Royal Navy, most recently as a rear admiral  and deputy chief of staff in a NATO strategic headquarters in the US. 

Leaman was awarded an OBE in 1994 for disaster relief services after Hurricane Andrew, and was recently appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath for his work developing and executing NATO's new maritime strategy.

He will now deliver Guide Dogs' new ten-year strategy,  entitled A Vision of the Future, which aims to help people suffering sight problems from diagnosis to treatment and all the way to finding suitable services.

The journey will be delivered in collaboration with other charities, central and local government, the NHS, and other healthcare professionals.

Guide Dogs currently employs 1,000 professional staff and has 10,000 volunteers.