We are pleased to announce that we have promoted a trio of senior public health veterinarians to national technical leads. Ester Benguerel is now food safety and animal welfare technical lead, Georgios Kakarantzas is exports technical lead and Patricia Gonzalez is our imports technical lead.

The trio have a combined experience of more than 60 years with Eville & Jones and will now move up into newly created roles that will see them each support a team of technical managers to deliver the highest technical standards of service delivery.

In addition, they will reinforce E&Js status as leaders within veterinary public health by positioning themselves as influential and authoritative voices within the food sector. By representing the combined interests of customers and the veterinary profession, they will advocate changes in legislation and regulatory guidance with the objective of maintaining UK veterinary public health as effective, efficient, and relevant to all stakeholders.

Ester joined Eville & Jones in 2000 and is an experienced Official Veterinarian (OV), she moves into her new position after previously being an Area Manager for the North of England, managing a large team of OVs and Meat Hygiene Inspectors (MHI) within abattoirs. Georgios has been with Eville & Jones since 2003 starting as an OV before moving to specialise in exports and becoming an Area Manager. Patricia joined Eville & Jones in 2001 and has worked as a portal OV for more than 20 years.

Our CEO Charles Hartwell commented: “As a business, we are currently on an ambitious growth path, so it is fantastic that we are able to appoint three of our most experienced veterinary surgeons as National Technical Leads. Investing in our people is a priority, and this is a perfect example. Ester, Georgios and Patricia have outstanding technical and people skills, with the ability to add value through integrating complex technical legislation and guidance with the operational demands of our customers.”