The Glasgow Chamber of Commerce will today appoint leading economic development expert Richard Cairns as its new chief executive.

The Glasgow Chamber of Commerce will today appoint leading economic development expert Richard Cairns as its new chief executive.

He replaces Lesley Sawers, who has taken over as chief executive at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.

Cairns, 49, was for the past four years Glasgow City Council's head of economic and social initiatives and was one of the main contributors to the council's 10-year Economic Strategy Step Change for Glasgow where he managed a staff of 83 and a budget of £55m.

He has also been involved with the city's tourism strategy and is on the board of Glasgow Works, the organisation set up to move 17,000 benefits claimants into work by 2010.

Cairns formally takes up his post on May 1, but has already started work on Chamber projects in what he calls "a natural progression" following on from previous work in partnership with the Chamber and other city business organisations and agencies.