All change at the top
12th March 2009
It’s all
change at Plymouth Marine Laboratory as Lord Christopher Kingsland
steps down to be replaced by eminent surgeon Terence Lewis as
Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Lord Kingsland took the
laboratory from being a government run operation into an
independent charity-based research organisation that is held in
high regard internationally.
Since breaking away as an independent research facility PML has
gone from strength to strength by maintaining strong links as a
collaborative centre with the UK Natural Environment Research
Council, but forging ahead in the private sector as a highly
competitive and well respected partner and contractor. This gives
PML a unique perspective on UK marine science and the demands it
faces – PML has managed to combine world class research with an
acute sense of business, an ideal combination to go forwards. Lord
Kingsland was pivotal in this success story and maintained a strong
guiding hand throughout the whole process, working closely with the
management team and the whole staff of what has become one of
Britain’s leading marine research facilities.
Lord Kingsland commented: “The biggest
challenge we all faced was a cultural one. There needed to be a
change of approach from being civil servants to becoming operators
in the commercial market, without dropping the high scientific
standards for which Plymouth Marine Laboratory was, and is, justly
renowned. Our greatest achievement during my chairmanship has been
keeping PML ‘in the black’. We made the right decision early on to
create a commercial subsidiary which has gone from strength to
strength and become a good model for others to emulate. The idea
was to make us less and less dependant upon government grants at a
time when public money continues to be extremely scarce. This
decision has placed PML in a strong position for the future giving
it a head start over others.”
Lord Kingsland paid tribute to his fellow
trustees and the entire PML team who, following the break from
government, soon realised that whilst they were afloat they were in
uncharted waters, and quickly had to develop their own navigational
instruments if they were to move forwards in the ‘real world’.
It is one of Lord Kingsland’s fellow trustees
who has taken up the mantle of steering PML forwards into a bright
future. Incoming Chairman Terence Lewis will be well known amongst
the medical fraternity as he is an eminent cardio-thoracic surgeon
and a former medical Director of the Plymouth NHS Trust. He is a
true champion of the region and has a special interest in human
health and the environment – an area in which PML is already making
major contributions to our knowledge.
Terence Lewis said of his predecessor: “It’s
difficult to overestimate the impact that Lord Kingsland has had on
PML; working with the entire team he steered the Laboratory through
the difficult process of change from a wholly owned and run
government laboratory to one that has firmly established itself in
the non-governmental sector. This has made PML unique and well
placed for the future. With the marine environment at the top of
the political agenda, PML is very well positioned to make a
significant contribution to its further understanding and
management. The challenge faced by the world’s oceans have never
been greater and the PML team with its breadth and depth of
expertise is a very special resource, ready to inspire and innovate
both nationally and internationally. Lord Kingsland’s contribution
has been immense he has always been a vigorous ambassador for PML
at the very heart of Westminster, and I am delighted that is
remaining as a member of our Development Council”