Richard Hooper fills an opening left by John Godfrey who resigned to take up his position as Chairman of AHDB. The second is Steve Francis, Managing Director of the Pork Business Unit at VION.

Richard Hooper manages the 240-sow indoor unit at Harper Adams University College. He also completed a Nuffield Scholarship in 2010 on the recruitment, training and retention of quality staff in the pig industry.

His current role involves the education of the next generation of agriculturists in modern pig production, making them aware of the great career opportunities available and carrying out near market research.

He said: "I'm looking forward to strengthening the BPEX connection with science to maximise productivity, efficiency and ultimately profitability in the industry."

Steve Francis is leading a huge programme of change as the former Grampian and J&J Tranfield businesses are integrated into existing VION UK operations to build a market-leading organisation.

He joined VION in 2008 in conjunction with the acquisition by VION of Grampian Country Food Group, working alongside Ton Christiaanse and Peter Barr (CEO and Chairman of VION UK, respectively) to form a strong business, drawing on the strengths of former Grampian businesses and fusing them with the strong values and strategic direction of the VION Group, a Dutch farmer-owned business.

He said: "I am excited about joining the BPEX Board and supporting in any way I can their excellent work in promoting The British Pig Industry.

"VION is farmer-owned, so is both a pig farmer in the UK and one of the largest processors of British pork. Our future is tied to creating a sustainable, healthy British pig industry."

BPEX Chairman, Stewart Houston, said: "I would like to welcome them to the board and look forward to the enthusiasm and experience they will bring to help the pig industry in these challenging times."