Incorporated Engineer and Chartered Environmentalist Alastair Taylor will take over the leadership of IAgrE from Chris Whetnall next week.

He has been a member of the Institution for more than 25 years and has served as chair of the Education and Training Committee of IAgrE. .

“I know that Chris Whetnall will be a hard act to follow but I am looking forward to working with the Council and Cranfield based team to take the Institution forward. I am not sure there has ever been a time as exciting as this to be involved in agricultural engineering,” said Alastair.

Raised on a mixed farm on the Lincolnshire coast, he attended Caythorpe College of Agriculture where in gained the City and Guilds Technicians Certificate in Agricultural Engineering. After graduating in 1980 Alastair took up a position as technician and demonstrator in the Agricultural Engineering Department at Harper Adams University. In 1983 he moved to Reaseheath College as a Lecturer in Farm Mechanisation and Agricultural Engineering. At the same time he gained a Certificate in Education and a First Degree in Education Management.

In 2000 he joined the government inspectorate responsible for monitoring the quality of education and training in colleges and apprenticeships. In 2006 he moved back into mainstream education, firstly working in a business development role for a consortium of five colleges and latterly as Vice Principal of Hartpury College in Gloucestershire.

Since 2010 Alastair has been running his own consultancy company offering a range of services to colleges, private companies and recently, the railway sector.

Retiring CEO Chris Whetnall commented, “I am very pleased that the Institution will be in good hands.”