SCOTTISH independent property consultancy Galbraith has appointed Andrew Shepherd, who it notes comes from a “rural business background”, as chairman as it targets further growth and development. Mr Shepherd will succeed Iain Russell, who is due to step down as chairman of Galbraith in September this year. Galbraith noted Mr Shepherd is a former chairman of Scottish accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael. And Mr Russell highlighted the fact Mr Shepherd is the first chairman of Galbraith to come from outwith the partnership. Galbraith chief executive Martin Cassels said of the recent performance of the business: “Like many businesses, whilst we have faced challenges over the last year or so, we have emerged stronger and performed extremely well.”