Emyr Williams

A director of land management in Snowdonia will take over as the national park’s boss next year.

Emyr Williams has been appointed chief executive of the Snowdonia National Park Authority.

The 49-year-old will be responsible for coordinating all the functions of the authority. He will also provide strategic advice and guidance to the authority by ensuring that its statutory purposes, aims and objectives are achieved effectively and efficiently, a spokesperson said.

Authority chair Caerwyn Roberts said: “I am delighted that Emyr Williams has agreed to be Snowdonia National Park Authority’s chief executive.

“I know that he has the interest, commitment, enthusiasm and energy necessary to achieve an important position such as this and I look forward very much to working with him in the near future.

“These are challenging times for Wales’s national parks and Emyr Williams’s strong leadership will be a valuable asset to us as the authority faces the tough challenges ahead.”

Mr Williams, who lives at Bontnewydd near Caernarfon, is expected to take up the post by Easter next year.

Originally from Clynnog Fawr, Emyr Williams was educated at Dyffryn Nantlle and the University of Wales Aberystwyth.

He was a lecturer at Coleg Glynllifon before joining the national park in 1987 as an assistant agricultural liaison officer. He was appointed head of the agriculture section in nine years later and in 2007, appointed to his present position as director of land management at Snowdonia National Park Authority, in which capacity he helped the introduction of grid-reference waymarks on popular walking routes on the park’s mountains.

In April, Aneurin Phillips will step down from his role as chief executive of the authority, which has about 160 members of staff, after more than 10 years in office.