A SUCCESSFUL businesswoman who is heavily involved in the voluntary and charitable sectors has been appointed Lord-Lieutenant for North Yorkshire.

Johanna Ropner has been confirmed as the Queen’s representative for the county which is the largest geographic lieutenancy in England.

She succeeds the late Barry Dodd CBE who died in a helicopter crash in North Yorkshire in May.

The Lord-Lieutenant role is to head up the promotion of civic, commercial, voluntary and social activities within the county, and to uphold the dignity of the Crown.

Mrs Ropner said: “It is a huge honour to have been appointed as Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire after the tragic death of Barry Dodd CBE. I look forward to continuing his good work whilst creating fresh opportunities in the county.”

She has been a trustee of the Rank Foundation since June 2005, became chair of the Grants Committee in 2016 and is responsible for the allocation of funds annually to community and social programmes throughout the UK. She is also chair of trustees of the Yorkshire Children’s Hospital Fund. Mrs Ropner is a patron of the Rainbow Trust, YMCA Ripon and a trustee of Opportunity Holiday Trust.

She is a director and founder shareholder of New England Seafood International, recently featuring in the Times fastest growing 250 mid-market companies.

Mrs Ropner is also the marketing director for Camp Hill Ltd, a family-owned corporate event and outdoor adventure business which won White Rose Holiday Park of the Year in 2017.

She graduated from Newcastle University with an honours degree in Agriculture and lives in Kirklington near Bedale with her husband Robert. They have three adult children.