Richard Hastilow CBE (pictured) will be the new Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He is Group Managing Director of Hampshire Training and Enterprise and Business Link Hampshire. A former naval officer, Hastilow is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Governor of the University of Portsmouth. During his naval career he was Captain of HMS Invincible and commanded the UK Task Force Group in the Adriatic, supporting UN forces in Bosnia.

Speaking about his appointment, which he takes up in September, Hastilow said: "I am delighted to have been appointed as Chief Executive, especially at a time of increased public interest in architecture. I greatly look forward to serving the members and supporting the development of the profession."

The Institute's Selection Panel chose Hastilow because of his success in driving change through a series of complex partnerships, joint ventures and external relationships; his track record of improving business performance; and his experience of working with Government and a wide range of external stake-holders.

RIBA's new Chief Executive clearly has the skills to deal with difficult political and human resources issues - while in charge of the Navy's Officer Training College at Dartmouth he was instrumental in introducing mixed male-female companies on ships at sea. i-FM looks forward to productive discussions between the architectural and facilities management professions.

Richard Byatt