Director-general of MLC resigns

Gwyn Howells the director general and former marketing director of the Meat and Livestock Commission has resigned to “find a new challenge”.

Howells joined the MLC as marketing director ten years ago. He was made director general in 1998, taking over from Colin Maclean, who retired. The move marked the first time a marketer had risen to this position in the organisation.

Prior to joining the MLC, Howells was marketing director of Reebok UK and before that was director of brand and trade marketing for Courage, where he oversaw the launch of Miller Lite.

Commenting on his resignation Howells says: “After a lot of thought I have concluded that it is time for me to move on. The MLC will be a different organisation from the one I was appointed to run, with far less scope for the kind of marketing that best suits my skills and I need to find a new challenge.”

Kevin Roberts, the MLC’s finance director, will take over his responsibilities in the interim.

Earlier this year, MLC laid off 16 of its 53 marketers because its funding had been slashed as result of the foot-and-mouth crisis. The redundancies included all ten regional education and health sector managers, who develop meat education lessons with schools, as well as export product manager Jackie Hruby (MW April 4, 2002).