For your interest please find below a list of appointments we have recently advised our clients on. Encouragingly it covers a wide variety of sectors and indeed functions, both Executive and Non-Executive. Thank you very much for your continued support – it is very much appreciated!
Also, and along with our partners at the University of Edinburgh Business School, we are delighted to announce that the Executive Leadership Programme is now back for its second year, and will run from August – December 2022. This interactive, high level programme will target the next generation of leaders across Scotland’s private, public and non-profit sectors and will focus on making future business leaders ‘Boardroom ready’. More information can be found here. If you think this could be of interest to any of your colleagues/contacts then please feel free to share. Registration is now open!
Appointments
Circularity Scotland is the scheme administrator for the Scottish Government’s Deposit Return Scheme, designed to encourage the maximum possible recycling of single-use drinks containers as part of its commitment to the circular economy. Five Non-Executive Directors have been appointed to its Board. Former Scottish & Newcastle CEO John Dunsmore will be the Senior Independent Director, former Dobbies CFO Sharon Brown will be the Audit Committee Chair, former Diageo Executive Pamela Scott will be RemCom Chair and also joining are former Nisa CEO Arnu Misra and former Ferrero and Mars CIO Jane Scott.
PE-backed Commsworld is a leading UK Telecommunications Network Provider and ISP with the aim to be provider of choice for digital connectivity solutions to clients across a wide range of sectors. Andy Leitch has been appointed as CFO and is formerly CFO of Colt Group and Aim Altitude.
OneBanks HUB, the high growth shared branch banking innovator has appointed Marianne (“Mara”) Lillian Breen-Hart as Chief Operating Officer and Louise Smith as a Non-Executive Director as it prepares to scale up to a national roll-out of its technology and operations. Mara joins from PwC, where she was Chief of Staff in its UK Risk business, responsible for strategy and execution, and previously Director of Technology Data and Analytics. Louise is the Chair of Innovate Finance and has extensive experience in the UK Banking and Fintech sector including at both NatWest and Barclays. She is also a former Chief Digital Officer of Lloyd’s of London and since 2016 has served as the HM Treasury Fintech Envoy to Scotland.
Inspired by HRH Prince Charles, North Highland initiative was founded in 2005 as a charity to bring together the farming community, local business and the tourism industry to try and address some of the challenges facing rural communities in the far north. Genevieve Duhigg has been appointed as Chair. She lives in Dornoch and has held Non Executive positions in Santander UK, Moneysupermarket, the Rugby Football Union and STV plc amongst others. She was also Global Digital Director of the Penguin Group and Chief Information Officer of Pearson PLC.
Exciting high growth retail platform Snappy Shopper has hired Barry McGonagle as its Chief Financial Officer as part of plans to accelerate its next phase of development. He previously held senior finance roles within Trip.com Group and Skyscanner.
Gordon & MacPhail is a multi-faceted international whisky business – a retailer, specialist UK wholesaler, international trade partner, distiller, and of course, a single malt maturation expert. It is also a family-owned business with over 125 years of history. Former Johnston Carmichael Chair and ICAS President Sandy Manson has joined its Board as a Non-Executive Director.
Homes for Scotland is a body representing more than 200 member organisations, its key objective being to deliver more homes for the country to make an unequivocal case for an increase in housing supply. Jane Wood joins as Chief Executive from BT where she was Group UK Nations & Regions Director.
Compressor sector innovator Vert Technologies has appointed Alan Duncan as its new CEO. He brings experience gained from more than 30 years in the energy industry, principally in engineering, manufacturing and service businesses.
Dundee-based Sappi Rockwell Solutions is part of the South-African headquartered Sappi Group and manufactures innovative films for the packaging sector. Martin Smith has relocated from Peterborough to join as Managing Director, having previously worked with HC Stark, Chemring Group, Remploy, Estee Lauder and Corus plc.
The wonderful Scottish Ballet is very pleased to announce the appointment of two new Non-Executive Directors: Scottish solicitor Nadhia Ahmad-Ali and Ballet Black Founder & Artistic Director Cassa Pancho MBE. Nadhia has recently been appointed as Head of Legal for Europe at United Healthcare, a Fortune 500 company and Cassa founded Ballet Black in 2001 to provide role models to young, aspiring black and Asian dancers.
Anglia Maltings is a privately owned company of great history, heritage and considerable scale, specialising in malting and a range of food ingredients. HQ’d in Norfolk, it works from a number of locations globally with a diverse range of partners from innovative craft brewers in the UK, Europe, North America and Japan to International food and drink companies. Stuart Sands, formerly of GrainCorp Malt in Vancouver, joins as its new CEO.
The Scottish SPCA is a very special charity with a unique perspective on the issues and challenges facing not only farm animals, domestic pets and wildlife but also the people who interact with them. Fiona MacLeod is its new Chair and brings a wide range of leadership experience and a passion for the subject. Following a very successful international career with BP she has built extensive Non Executive experience, including with Virgin Money plc, Denholm Energy Services as well as from the charity sector.
Scotland’s leading suicide prevention charity, Samaritans Scotland, has appointed Amanda Millar as its new Chair. She is the first solicitor in Scotland accredited by the Law Society in both Mental Health Law and Incapacity & Mental Disability Law and brings a wealth of experience to Samaritans, most recently from her time at the Law Society of Scotland where she was President.
NHS Education for Scotland is the education and training body for all of health and social care across Scotland. Jim Boyle has been appointed as Director of Finance and joins from Stirling Council where he was CFO.
International defence, aerospace and security company Babcock International has appointed Lee Head, who joins from Spirit AeroSystems, as Head of Logistics and Warehousing.
Leading Scottish legal firm Anderson Strathern has appointed Mike McGregor as Non-Executive Director, replacing Graeme Bissett who has served two terms on the board since 2015. Mike is a former Partner at Deloitte and is also the CEO of EG Thomson (Holdings) Ltd.
Gilson Gray, one of the most prominent and modern legal firms in Scotland has recruited Alastair Fiddes as Group CFO to support its impressive growth. He was previously COO of Falcon Private Bank in Zurich and Head of Treasury with Mubadla Development Co in Abu Dhabi.
Novosound, the award-winning remote sensor specialists has appointed Simon Patterson as Chief Commercial Officer to drive its UK and international growth strategy. He has spent the last decade working in senior commercial roles at companies servicing global energy and industrial markets, including Innospection, Aker Solutions and TechnipFMC.
KCA Deutag, the world-leading drilling and engineering contractor, has appointed Lesley Greenlees as Global Head of Tax. Lesley joins from Aggreko, where she held the position of Director of Tax.
Kim Woolner joins prominent North Sea operator Ithaca Energy as People & Culture Manager, having previously held senior HR roles across organisations including TAQA, Richard Irvin, ASOS.com, Cossette and Discovery Inc.
In other HR appointments, independent living specialist Blackwood Group has appointed Jane Reilly as Head of HR & OD; ICAS has appointed Najette McWhinnie as HR Operations Manager and Lucy Wallace has joined leading homelessness charity Social Bite as HR Manager.
The award-winning Scottish Ensemble is a pioneering string orchestra which regularly performs across Scotland, the UK and internationally. With a wonderful reputation and a constellation of amazing musicians, it champions music for strings, promoting the rich diversity of the string repertoire. Bill McCall and Nicola Gordon, both exceptionally experienced Non Executive Directors have joined its Board as Trustees.
Entrepreneurial Scotland is an independent charity that exists to equip leaders and talent with the entrepreneurial skills, mindset and connections to positively impact their organisations and deliver significant personal and business growth. Janet Black has been appointed as Operations Director and joins from the University of the West of Scotland where she held the role of Manager of the Centre for Continuing Professional Development.
PlotBox is the leading software solution provider for the death care industry, enabling crematoria and cemeteries all over the world to better serve and support grieving families. Asim Mirza has joined the business in Northern Ireland as Director of Operations, having previously held senior Customer Experience, Operations and Client Affairs roles with Vodafone and the Qatar Financial Centre Authority.
Cyrenians, the Edinburgh based charity focused on tackling the causes and consequences of homelessness, has appointed Linda Kelly as Director of Commercial Services to lead all fundraising and income generation. She joins from Argowan Hospice, having previously worked with Save the Children UK and British Heart Foundation.
Luxury cashmere and lambs wool yarn producer Todd & Duncan has made two senior appointments to bolster its manufacturing capability. George Clarke joins as Production Director from Heathcoat Fabrics and Paul Smith joins as Senior Production Manager, bringing extensive technical knowledge in yarn spinning from AW Hainsworth & Sons.
Circular fashion expert ACS Clothing has further added to its leadership team, with Lyndsey Pell joining as Head of Marketing. She joins from her previous role as Head of Brand Marketing for automotive business Scania UK, and also brings experience from both Mercedes Benz and Peter Vardy.
Leading UK construction and infrastructure business Robertson Group has appointed Hekesh Mistry as Finance Director for its Facilitates Management business. He joins from Sodexo, where he held dual roles leading Finance for its private sector FM business, as well as Global Strategic Account Director for its high profile client base.
Business Beats Cancer brings together business leaders to raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK and has appointed three new Trustees to its Edinburgh Board. They are Chris Corrigan of Investis Digital; Richard Thorpe of Catelant Pharma Solutions and last but not least our very own Ailsa Sutherland.
The Royal Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh is a charitable organisation for business and professional people which is dedicated to supporting the young and the elderly. Susan Groat has been appointed as Secretary & Chamberlain, effectively a COO role. She is formerly Director of Property and Facilities at Edinburgh Napier University and a Director of Miller Developments.
Leading Energy Industry specialist Motive Offshore has strengthened its business development team with two key appointments. Andy Derrick has been appointed Global Business Development Director, and Craig McKeown as Sales Manager for the UK and EU.
CPI EuroMix, a division of FTSE 250 Grafton Group plc and the UK market leader in the production of dry mix mortars has appointed Wendy Macfarlane as Financial Director. She was formerly with PwC and joins from Devro plc where she was Global Supply Chain Business Partner.
Loch Insh Watersports is a multi-disciplined family business which sits at the foot of Glen Feshie near its confluence with the Spey on the leeward shore of Loch Insh, set in 14 acres of mature mixed beach, oak, birch, and pine woods. Laura McNally has been appointed as CEO and joins from Forestry & Land Scotland.
MaidSafe is an incredibly exciting business that is building the Safe Network – the world’s first autonomous decentralised data network. The Safe Network is a new internet, with the emphasis firmly on the security, privacy and freedom of those that use it. Andrew James joins the business as Head of Finance and FinTech, having previously held the role of Finance Manager with Gallagher in Glasgow.
Instock Group, a family business established in Aberdeen in 1974, is now one of the largest independent distributors of cleaning and non-food catering supplies to private and public sector customers in the UK. Chris Orr has been appointed as Head of Finance. He joins from Lawrie & Symington, where he held the role of Finance and Commercial Director.
Aegon UK, the provider of retirement, workplace savings and protection solutions to over 3.8 million customers, has appointed Divya Naresh as Learning & Development Manager. She previously held the same position with CHAS.
Victrex plc, a FTSE 250 company, is a world leader in polymer solutions, helping customers to overcome complex design and engineering challenges. Chris Eyre joins from ENOC in the Middle East as its Asset Leader.
Policy Services Ltd is a provider of administration, fee reconciliation and advice services and is part of the St. James’s Place Group. Josephine Murphy joins as Head of Compliance from Sesame Bankhall Group and Keith Meiklejohn has been appointed Head of Finance and was previously with Spire Murrayfield Hospital.
Horizon Housing Association which provides affordable housing to enable people to live full independent lives has appointed Gordon Binnie to the position of Head of Housing. He brings over 10 years’ experience in housing management with Fife Council.
