PAUL CHAPMAN has been appointed policy and research manager for the food and drink sector skills council, Improve.

Mr Chapman, from South Shields, South Tyneside, will develop policies to help the sector maintain the supply of skills. He will also be part of the operations team.

Mr Chapman joins Improve after a number of senior research and marketing roles, including five years as head of global research at card-protection services company CPP Group, in York, and a year as head of corporate marketing at gap-year travel specialists, i-to-i Limited.

After a degree in business and management studies from the University of Bradford, he completed an MSc in health economics at the University of York.