Webbon Sees Bright Future For Animal Health Trust
18 years ago
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Posted
19th September, 2006 00h00
Dr Peter Webbon has been appointed Chief Executive of the Animal Health Trust with effect from 1st January 2007. For the last 5 months, following the retirement of Ted Chandler, Dr Mark Vaudin has been acting as Interim Chief Executive and will continue to do so until the end of the year, when he will take up the post of Assistant Chief Executive.
Dr Vaudin said “I have had enormous satisfaction from the experience gained in the interim post and I am greatly looking forward to my new, permanent position and to working with Dr Webbon. This is a very satisfactory outcome in that, when I do hand over the reins, I will continue to have a senior administrative role within the directorate while, at the same time, being able to give adequate attention to managing the genetics research activities which are so important, both to me and to the Trust”.
Dr Webbon has been Chief Executive of the Horseracing Regulatory Authority since its inception earlier this year. Prior to that he was with the Jockey Club for 10 years, initially as Chief Veterinary Adviser and subsequently as Director of Veterinary Welfare and Science.
Lord Kirkham, Chairman of AHT’s Executive Committee, who convened the Appointment Panel commented “Peter Webbon brings with him the ideal combination of managerial experience and scientific expertise. The Trust needs a strong leader who can maximise its potential. Animal welfare is at the core of our objectives and he has a proven track record in this field”.
Dr Webbon’s early career was based around veterinary academia. He graduated from London’s Royal Veterinary College and became a Horserace Betting Levy Board Research Training Scholar, managing to combine his veterinary skills with his passion for racing.
He then became a lecturer in Radiology, where much of his work focused on canine orthopaedics. Following a period as Senior Lecturer in Equine Medicine and Director of the Sefton Equine Referral Hospital at the RVC, he joined the Jockey Club in 1996.
Dr Webbon, who has worked in collaboration with the Trust on many occasions throughout his career, commented “this position will allow me to utilise all of my previous experience and expertise. The Trust has been through a period of re-organisation and a certain amount of upheaval. However, I am confident that it has enormous potential and I am greatly looking forward to the opportunity of working closely with the equine and small animal industries to ensure that it remains a leading provider of vital services as well as a top class research institute. Mark Vaudin has done sterling work in his post as interim CEO and we have already started to discuss our plans for the future direction of the Trust”.
Peter Webbon’s high profile positions in racing have established his reputation as an exceptional communicator, effective strategist and resourceful general manager. John Bridgeman, Chairman of HRA, said “our loss is definitely the Trust’s gain. We are sorry to be losing Peter but quite understand the reasons for his decision. We wish him every success in this challenging new role. Hopefully, he will continue to play an active role in racing and I am sure that, ultimately, this appointment will be beneficial to the racing industry as a whole ".
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