Alex MacKinnon, director for Scotland, to act as interim chief executive of RPS

Alex MacKinnon has been appointed as the interim chief executive officer of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) while a replacement is found for current chief executive Helen Gordon, who is leaving the organisation at the end of February 2017.

MacKinnon, who is currently director for RPS Scotland, will be required to spend considerable time in the RPS England headquarters in Wapping, London, during the his tenure as chief executive.

In the meantime, Aileen Bryson, practice and policy lead at RPS Scotland, will be acting up as director for RPS Scotland.

“Alex is delighted to accept the acting up arrangement and is looking forward to leading the organisation in the interim before returning to complete the fantastic work that is already in motion in Scotland,” says Martin Astbury, president of the RPS.

He adds that the RPS has ”every confidence that [Bryson] will continue to deliver brilliantly within this role”.

The search for a permanent CEO is already underway and interviews for the position are expected to be held in the week commencing 20 March 2017. The post has been advertised widely.