Paul McLaughlin has been appointed chief executive of Red Tractor, the UK’s largest food and farm assurance scheme.
Paul McLaughlin has a career spanning food, farming and assurance.
He started out in food manufacturing, working with Mars and the Coca-Cola Company before becoming the inaugural chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink where he brought together producers, processors and retailers.
As managing director of fresh produce business Scotty Brand, he oversaw the supply of a wide range of products including potatoes, carrots, fruit and meat to the UK’s major grocery retailers.
He has also held leadership roles at the Building Engineering Services Association and most recently at the Rail Safety and Standards Board where he led the transformation of a major assurance scheme.
Chief executive appointment
Talking about his appointment, Paul McLaughlin said: “British farming is the backbone of our food system, and the farmers and growers who meet the Red Tractor standard deserve a scheme that works as hard for them as they work for us.
“I want Red Tractor to be something that farmers can be genuinely proud of and that retailers and consumers trust completely. I’ll be doing a lot of listening first, and then getting to work.”
Alistair Macintosh, chair of Red Tractor, said McLaughlin “brings a unique blend of experience working within food, assurance and multi-stakeholder organisations”.
Red Tractor board
McLaughlin’s appointment follows a comprehensive, open recruitment process and was ratified by Red Tractor’s board of directors on March 13, 2026.
He will take up the role on May 5, enabling him to work alongside Red Tractor’s outgoing CEO, Jim Moseley, before he retires at the end of May.
McLaughlin will join Red Tractor’s board of directors, working alongside industry, sector and independent directors representing the full breadth of UK food and farming.
Following the recent National Farmers Union (NFU) elections, Paul Tompkins, NFU deputy president has also joined the board to represent the farming unions.
He replaces outgoing director, David Exwood.
Red Tractor’s members include over 40,000 farmers and growers, accounting for 75% of UK agriculture production.
Currently, 98% of dairy, 90% of pork and around 95% of poultry produced in the UK are produced to Red Tractor standards.
