Julie Williams has been elected as the new Chief Executive of wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation (BC).

The charity’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously for Julie to take on the role after Dr Martin Warren OBE retired from the post last year.

Julie, who has worked with the wildlife charity since 2000, has carried out the role of Acting Chief Executive since the start of 2017 but will now take on the position permanently.

Speaking after the announcements she said: “I am honoured to be leading an organisation with such dedicated staff, volunteers and members who work tirelessly for BC.

“None of us can ignore the falling numbers of our moths and butterflies and we have ambitious plans to ensure we recover the most threatened, increase numbers of our widespread species and encourage people to connect with the natural world.

“We must work to ensure the external political and funding environment does not hamper the delivery of our long term plans. Whatever the challenges ahead I am thrilled and excited to be in a position to ensure our moths and butterflies have a future.”

Julie joined the BC finance team in 2000, later becoming Director of Finance and Administration in 2003 and appointed as Deputy Chief Executive in December 2013.

Since then she has worked alongside Dr Warren and has led in the areas of HR, membership, media and marketing, in addition to her role as Director of Finance.

BC Chair Dr Jim Asher said: “I am delighted to announce that, at the Butterfly Conservation Council meeting on Saturday 15th July, Trustees voted unanimously to confirm Julie Williams as Chief Executive on a permanent basis, with immediate effect.

“She has delivered excellent performance over the last half year, demonstrating strong management skills and a clear and strategic vision for the future of BC.

“We are convinced that she is clearly the right person for the job and that BC will go far with Julie at the helm.

“Trustees look forward to working with Julie to deliver the long-term strategy for BC to save our butterflies and moths as we face the many challenging uncertainties in the external environment.“

Follow Julie on Twitter @JulieWilliamsBC