NorthLink has appointed Orkney tourism chief Gareth Crichton to the key post of commercial director.

Mr Crichton (34), who has been chief executive of the Orkney Tourist Board for three years, will be responsible for overseeing the new ferry company’s marketing, promotional and customer service activities.

NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd is a joint venture involving Caledonian MacBrayne and the Royal Bank of Scotland. The company was awarded the contract and subsidy to run ferry services from the mainland to the Northern Isles by the Scottish Executive in December last year. NorthLink will take over from P & O Scottish Ferries on October 1, 2002.

NorthLink chief executive John Horton said: "This is a key post and we had to get the right person for the job. We believe that we have done that with Gareth. Our recruitment consultants had carried out an executive search for us and we considered over 100 potential candidates before deciding that Gareth’s credentials made him a stand-out for the post.

"Gareth’s background in commerce, tourism and economics plus the fact that he knows the Northern Isles extremely well means that he is tailor-made for the job and we are delighted to welcome him on board," said Horton.

Mr Crichton said: "I’m obviously sad to be leaving the Orkney Tourist Board. I’ve had a fantastic three years here but it’s time to move on. The timing was perfect because my three-year contract is about to come to an end. This is an exciting opportunity to become involved with something big almost at the beginning and that represented too good an opportunity to say no.

"I have been looking on from the sidelines at what NorthLink want to do in terms of bringing more people to the islands and I applaud their strategy. We have also, as most people know already, entered into a joint marketing strategy with NorthLink and the tourist boards in Shetland and Highlands. It will now be one of my responsibilities to drive that strategy through to a successful conclusion," said Mr Crichton.

He added: "Although I’m coming directly from a tourism-related background I’ll also be hoping to make good use of the three years’ experience gained as general manager at Orkney Seafoods. Freight and commercial traffic will be a big part of what NorthLink do and having seen the operation from the other side of the fence I’m hoping that will stand me in good stead."

Mr Crichton, who will be based with NorthLink in Stromness, Orkney, has been asked by the Orkney Tourist Board to provide input into the appointment of his successor. He will take up his appointment with NorthLink after a mutually agreed period of notice with the tourist board.