Ian Angus Mackenzie MBE

Following on from our earlier post, we would also like to congratulate Ian Angus Mackenzie, the first Chief Executive of the Harris Tweed Authority, on the well-deserved MBE that he received.

Below is the letter sent by HTA Chairman Norman L. MacDonald in recognition of his award.

“Dear Ian Angus

I am taking this opportunity to write on behalf of the Harris Tweed Authority to congratulate you on the recent announcement that you have been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2026 New Year Honours List for services to the Harris Tweed® industry and for your contribution to Scottish Textiles.

The MBE is a significant honour and one that is hugely well deserved for your extraordinary contribution to the Harris Tweed® industry.

Yours has been a multi-faceted career which has seen you contributing to every aspect of the industry. Your contribution began as a weaver, developing practical hands-on expertise before moving to pass on that knowledge as a weaving tutor and lecturer. You led innovation within the industry particularly around the creation and introduction of the double width loom.

Of immeasurable importance were your contributions to the legislation that safeguards our industry, the 1993 Harris Tweed Act. This vital legislation ensures that Harris Tweed® is the only cloth in the world supported by its own Act of Parliament and it remains as important today as when it was first drafted.

The Harris Tweed Authority (HTA) was brought into being through the Act and you played a critical leadership role when you became the first Chief Executive of the Authority. The foundations you established in these early years of the HTA remain the bedrock of what the HTA does today, with the approaches you introduced continuing to safeguard the industry.

Your move back into the private sector as a founding director and the first Chief Executive of Harris Tweed Hebrides was instrumental in renewing and modernising the industry. Your current role as Chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides ensures you continue to make an important contribution to both the company and the strategic direction of Harris Tweed®.

The above summary does little justice and barely captures the unique and critical contribution you have made to the industry. It is an industry that would be in a much-diminished place without your lifelong input and dedication.

On behalf of the HTA, I congratulate you again on the receipt of this much deserved honour.

Yours sincerely,
Norman L. MacDonald
Chairman
Harris Tweed Authority”