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Harris Tweed Hebrides add to management team      21/2/13

Harris Tweed Hebrides have strengthened their management team with the recruitment of Margaret A. MacLeod who was previously head of regional development with HIE in Stornoway.

Margaret joins the Shawbost-based company as Brand Development Director as well as taking on company secretarial duties.  Although she has worked in the public sector for the past seven years, supporting a wide range of local businesses, her professional background is in textiles.

Until returning home to Lewis in 2005, Margaret was Home Furnishings Manager with Johnston’s of Elgin and was closely involved in establishing their interiors business -  at that time, a new sector for the company.  She had previously worked with major fashion and textiles firms in Glasgow and London.

Ian Angus MacKenzie, chief executive of Harris Tweed Hebrides, said: “We have grown very quickly as a company and it was essential to recruit an experienced individual both to help deal with existing challenges and also to look for fresh market opportunities.  To have found someone with Margaret’s relevant experience within our own community is a real bonus.”

Margaret MacLeod said: “I grew up in a weaving community and my father is still a weaver, so I know how important this industry is to the whole island economy.

“Harris Tweed Hebrides have been instrumental in driving global demand and for re-positioning Harris Tweed in the market-place.  Having spent a large proportion of my career in retailing and textile manufacturing, I hope that I can help ensure that we continue to advance our reputation for innovation, quality and customer service.”

Harris Tweed Hebrides chairman, Brian Wilson, said:  “There was an extremely high quality field of applicants for the post, demonstrating that there are people of great ability ready and eager to develop their professional careers in the Western Isles if the opportunities exist.

“We are confident of another great year for Harris Tweed Hebrides but it is crucial to look beyond that and to make sure that everything we have achieved over the past five years is truly sustainable. I am sure Margaret will make a major contribution towards meeting that objective.”