Introducing our new President

Today we welcome Welsh farm vet and academic Dr Gwenllian Mair Rees BVSc (Hons) PhD FHEA FRSM FRCVS as BVA President for 2026-2027. 

Gwen was sworn into post at BVA Day at Mansfield Street, which is an annual day to celebrate our members and the veterinary profession.  

Gwen brings a wealth of experience across farm and equine practice and academia to the role. Apart from serving as BVA’s Welsh Branch President from 2023 to 2025, she is one of the founding academics at Wales’ first School of Veterinary Science, at Aberystwyth University, where she now works as a lecturer. She is also well known among the Welsh farming and veterinary community as the project lead for Arwain DGC’s Veterinary Prescribing Champions Network, a Welsh Government-funded national antimicrobial stewardship programme, for which she was recognised with an RCVS Fellowship last year.  

In her first address to members as President, Gwen introduced her theme for the year: a profession prepared and united behind national disease resilience. Her focus reflects our members’ growing concern about how the UK veterinary profession would respond to a major notifiable disease outbreak, and how vets across all areas of practice could be better supported to play their part.  

In her speech, she emphasised that disease resilience doesn’t mean every vet needs to be a specialist; instead, her theme encourages the profession to think more broadly about readiness, skills, training and the ability to mobilise quickly if an emergency affects animals, clients, businesses and communities.  

During Gwen's presidential year, you will also see us continue our work on other major issues for the profession. These include helping members navigate implementation of the Competition and Markets Authority reforms, announced earlier this week, and ensuring any changes work in practice for veterinary teams, clients and animal welfare, as well as continuing the long-running campaign to reform the Veterinary Surgeons Act.  

Read Gwen’s presidential speech in full.

Joining Gwen on the BVA Officer team will be outgoing President Dr Rob Williams FRCVS, who moves into the Senior Vice President role, and zoo and wildlife medicine specialist Dr Fieke Molenaar MRCVS, who has been elected to the role of Junior Vice President.