Gavin Neath, chairman of Unilever UK, is the new president of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

Neath, 51, joined Unilever in 1977 and was appointed UK chairman in July 2004, taking over from Richard Greenhalgh.

Commenting on his new role at the FDF, Neath said: "Britain's food and drink producers face many challenges at the moment and the FDF has a key role in helping us address these. Our industry is committed to working constructively with the government in the creation of workable nutrition and health policies, and the FDF will play a leading role in this."

Neath was born in east Africa and gained a BA at Manchester University and a MSc at Warwick. He also took part in Stanford University's senior executive programme in the US.

After joining Unilever, Neath worked in Europe and South Africa before becoming chairman of Van den Bergh Foods in 1999. When this merged with Bestfoods UK in 2001 he became chairman of Unilever Bestfoods.

He was previously deputy president of the FDF.