Robert Hughes has been announced as the permanent CEO of the Landscape Institute (LI), with immediate effect.

After serving as acting CEO for the past seven months, Hughes says he is accepting the position permanently “at a pivotal time for action on the combined emergencies of climate, biodiversity, and health, as well as the green skills agenda.”

He first joined the LI as commercial director, having spent his career largely in the education and technology sectors over the last two decades.

President-elect of the LI, Carolin Göhler, says Hughes made a “wide and positive impact” over recent months. “With his passion for landscape and hands-on experience in managing land, combined with his strong business acumen and immense people skills, he is taking the LI to new heights of collaboration and inclusion.”

Hughes is looking to modernise and futureproof the Landscape Institute, with Project Kestrel – the organisation’s digital transformation programme – and its New Ways of Working initiative.

“We’re taking positive steps towards becoming a more open, inclusive, and future-orientated organisation, putting our members at the heart of everything we do, and collaborating with partners across the built and natural environment,” says Hughes.

“Our potential to make a difference will be founded on the partnerships we build, both as an Institute and as a society, and I look forward to leading this important work in close collaboration with our dedicated membership body, volunteers, and staff.”