Sally Magnusson

Broadcaster

Sally Magnusson has worked on a range of BBC programmes and currently presents Reporting Scotland. She is also the author of ten books, including most recently two novels. Her bestselling memoir Where Memories Go: Why Dementia Changes Everything, has been credited with improving knowledge and understanding of this widespread brain condition.

Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP

First Minister of Scotland

First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the SNP since November 2014. From 2012 to 2014 she was Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities, and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing between 2007 and 2012. She also served as Deputy First Minister throughout that period. She has served in the Scottish Parliament since 1999.

David Barnes

Deputy Director for Trade Policy

David Barnes is Deputy Director for Trade Policy at the Scottish Government in Edinburgh. He joined the Scottish Government in 2008 as Head of Agriculture and Rural Development Policy, and later became its Head of EU Exit Strategy and Negotiations. Before moving to Scotland he was a Counsellor at the United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels, and Agriculture Attaché at the British Embassy in Paris.

Esther Black

Director of Corporate Operations

Esther has worked in media, public affairs and strategic communications for over 20 years. She started her career as a journalist before working in the Scottish Parliament for a group of MSPs.
During a period in Australia, she worked in crisis communications for fast-moving consumer goods companies then for international environmental groups including Pew, WWF and Nature Conservancy.

Professor Sir Angus Deaton

Professor

Sir Angus Deaton is Senior Scholar and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and Presidential Professor of Economics at USC. He is the author of The Great Escape: health, wealth, and the origins of inequality and, with Anne Case, Deaths of despair and the future of capitalism. His interests span domestic and international issues and include health, happiness, development, poverty, inequality, and how to best collect and interpret evidence for policy.

Sean Duffy

Chief Executive

Sean Duffy is currently Chief Executive of the Wise Group where he has led a successful technical, cultural and financial transformation. He is a positive, dynamic and innovative Third Sector leader who has a track record of building values-based partnerships that focus on expanding impactful collaborations to improve some of the most significant challenges in our society.

Clare Foster

Head of Clean Energy

Clare is Head of Clean Energy at law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn. A dual qualified project finance specialist she has been involved in the energy sector since the early renewable projects of the mid-1990s. Clare advises clients on UK projects spanning the energy sector (including onshore, offshore and energy efficiency) and leads the team on most clean energy transactions.

Adrian Gillespie

Chief Executive

Adrian became Chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, Scotland's national economic development agency, in September 2021. Prior to this, he was the University of Strathclyde’s first Chief Commercial Officer and member of their Executive Team. Before joining the University, Adrian spent sixteen years at Scottish Enterprise where he was Managing Director of Operations and member of the Executive Leadership Team. 

Chris van der Kuyl CBE

Chairman

Chris van der Kuyl is one of Scotland’s leading entrepreneurs working across the technology, media, gaming and entertainment sectors. Chris is most notably co-founder and chairman of multiple award-winning games developer 4J Studios, best known for developing Minecraft for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo games consoles. He and fellow co-founder Paddy Burns launched Chroma Ventures, the investment arm of 4J Studios, in 2021.

Adam Morrison

Project Director

Adam is the Project Director for Moray West Offshore Wind Farm at Ocean Winds. He has two decades of experience across the renewable energy industry, initially working in the wave and tidal sector before moving into onshore wind and then offshore wind. His previous roles include various project positions whilst at RES Offshore, Head of Electrical for the engineering and construction of electrical transmission assets at EDP Renewables, and then Project Director.

Neil O’Brien MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Neil O’Brien was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Levelling Up, the Union, and Constitution at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in September 2021. Prior to taking on his ministerial role, Neil was Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Levelling Up Adviser from May 2021. Other previous roles include Special Adviser to Prime Minister Theresa May on the Economy and Industrial Strategy and Special Adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

Calum Paterson

Managing Partner

Calum Paterson is Managing Partner of Scottish Equity Partners (SEP), a growth equity firm which invests in technology and technology enabled companies in the UK and Europe. SEP’s current portfolio comprises 21 high growth businesses, which have total revenue of ~£1.2 bn and 5,900 employees. Calum has BA and MBA degrees from the University of Strathclyde and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is a former Chair of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association.

Simon Roddy

Senior Vice President and Upstream Director

Simon leads the Shell UK Upstream business, a major operated business with a diverse workforce engaged in exploration, production, new investments, decommissioning and energy transition activities across the offshore North Sea and onshore gas processing. Simon a Board member of the industry body OGUK and a member of the North Sea Transition Forum.

Bob Sanguinetti

Chief Executive

Bob Sanguinetti joined Aberdeen Harbour Board as Chief Executive in 2021, bringing an extensive background in the maritime industry. Prior to joining the port, Bob led the UK Chamber of Shipping, where he influenced Government, Parliament and global organisations to champion and protect the UK’s shipping industry. Bob was Chief Executive of the Port of Gibraltar between 2014 – 2018 and has more than 20 years’ experience in the Royal Navy, in sea and land-based roles.

Angela Scott

Chief Executive

Angela joined the local authority in November 2013, as Director of Corporate Governance and has been in her current role since July 2014. Prior to joining the council, Angela was Head of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. In addition, Angela was the expert advisor to both the Finance committee of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly.

Stephen Sheal

Head of External Relations

Stephen is Head of External Relations at the NZTC. His mission is to enable the development and deployment of technology for an affordable net-zero energy future. He is focused on building relationships with the NZTC strategic partners, government and wider stakeholders. He regularly works with city leaders and policy makers, is a member of SCDI's North East Committee and SCDI’s Policy Committee.

Mairi Spowage

Director

Professor Mairi Spowage is Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute. Areas of expertise include economic policy, regional economic statistics, and economic & fiscal forecasting.
Mairi leads on the Institute's work with various partners, including those in business, the public and third sector. Previously, she was Deputy Chief Executive of the Scottish Fiscal Commission and Head of National Accounts at the Scottish Government.

Rory Stewart

Writer

Rory Stewart is a writer. He was an independant candidate for the Mayor of London and Member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border – the largest geographical constituency in England – between 2010 and 2019. In 2008 he was appointed as the Ryan Family Professor of the Practice of Human Rights and Director of the Carr Centre of Human Rights at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Dr Oliver Taylor

Chief Executive

Dr Oliver Taylor is the CEO for the newly announced bp and Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub joint venture. He is based in bp’s Regions, Cities and Solutions entity where he leads City partnerships, challenging our partners and bp to maintain energy sector leadership in getting to net zero. His background spans working with bp’s executive team as chief of staff to bp’s chief scientist and head of downstream technology.

Robert Thorburn

Partnership Director

Robert Thorburn is Openreach’s Partnership Director for Scotland, leading on the company’s commercial and funded programmes to deliver fast, reliable fibre broadband working with partners large and small. Robert has a 25-year career in the IT and communications sector with extensive experience in programme and project management.

Gemma Turnbull

Head of Innovation Missions Policy

Gemma is Head of Innovation Missions Policy in BEIS, leading the team responsible for delivering the Innovation Strategy’s commitment to innovation Missions and public innovation levers.

Previously in DfE, Gemma led the UK Government’s International Education Strategy and its pandemic response. Her previous government roles include operational contract management in HMCTS, data governance in DHSC, operational delivery in DWP, and city strategy in Bristol City Council.

Melanie van de Velde PhD

Founder

Melanie van de Velde, PhD, MBA, MSc, author, Founder of Big Tree Global & B Journeys. Following a successful career in the tech sector Melanie ran an impact business empowering women in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. The experience sparked a fire in her to uncover how business can address global issues most effectively. Her research was awarded the Adam Smith Prize for PhD Excellence, nominated by Cambridge University.

Ian Walker

Senior Director

Ian is the Senior Director within Johnson & Johnson’s Global Public Health team and guides the company's strategy and strategic partnerships in Global Surgery. Prior to this, Ian was a Senior Director within the J&J Global Community Impact team (J&J Foundation) and was Managing Director of the J&J MISSA Region Medical Device business for 7 years. During this period, the business enjoyed significant growth, culminating in the award of the 2014 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.

David Pitt-Watson

Entrepreneur

David Pitt-Watson is a leading practitioner, campaigner and thinker in the field of responsible investment. Co-founder, and former CEO of Hermes Focus Funds and Equity Ownership Service, he chaired the UN Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative in the run up to the Paris Climate Conference. He was senior non-executive at KPMG, a director of ICGN, Treasurer of Oxfam. He is a visiting fellow at Cambridge University. His books have been translated into five languages.

Andy Witty

Director of Sector Policy

Andy Witty is Director of Sector Policy and part of the senior leadership team within Colleges Scotland, the membership body which represents the interests of all the Colleges throughout Scotland. Andy is responsible for the development of funding and policy approaches, and for negotiations with Scottish Government on behalf of the Colleges.

Louise McGregor

Head of Customer Service & Support

Louise leads Zero Waste Scotland’s Customer Service & Support team. Previously she led the Circular Economy team for over five years, influencing and supporting businesses and wider society to embrace circular opportunities. Her priority remains driving circular economy solutions in Scotland, through building sustainable & strong relationships with customers and working in partnership to deliver high-impact interventions.

Cheryl Robb

Partnerships Manager

Cheryl has worked at Zero Waste Scotland for over nine years, working with a range of stakeholders from business to the public sector and a range of industries including manufacturing, oil & gas and renewable energy to influence the adoption of circular economy thinking and action. Most recently, Cheryl has led a team supporting circular projects in cities and regions working closely with Chambers of Commerce, enterprise agencies and international partners.

Caroline Laurenson

Managing Director

TL Tech specialise in supporting people to maintain their independence in their own homes and are passionate about breaking down barriers to help people access digital solutions. In 2020, TL Tech pivoted its business to focus on supporting customers remotely in new innovative ways. In November 2020, Caroline and her team launched Kindspace, a voice application for Amazon Alexa that supports wellbeing, empowers self-care, helps to alleviate loneliness and supports mental health.

Barry McCulloch

Senior Manager, UK Network – Scotland

In his role as Senior Manager within the British Business Bank’s UK Network team, Barry is the eyes and ears of the Bank in Scotland. A passionate advocate of the importance of smaller businesses in the economy, Barry has expertise in SMEs and a range of finance and economic issues. Prior to joining the Bank this year, Barry spent over a decade working in senior public policy and public affairs roles in Scotland.

Melinda Matthews-Clarkson

CEO

Melinda Matthews-Clarkson has spent her 28-year career as a leader in technology. She is currently the CEO of CodeClan where she leverages her passion for people and her business skills to drive growth into the Scottish Digital Economy. She has held roles as a VP of Sales, Global Executive of Business Development & Enablement, Director of Marketing and VP of Alliances and Partnerships.

Tom Harley

Education Manager

Tom entered the teaching profession in 2002 as a Teacher of Design and Technology. Having gained a wealth experience through a wide variety of leadership roles Tom joined Skills Development Scotland in February 2019.
Tom is one of the Education Mangers within the SDS National Education Team and leads on the development of the meta-skills toolkit, professional learning for practitioners and STEM.

Maggie Morrison

Managing Director UK

Prior to joining Fintech start up Hi55 Ventures, Maggie held senior leadership positions at home and abroad for NTT DATA, CGI, Hewlett Packard and Cisco. With more than thirty years of experience in the IT industry she has lived and worked in The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany and the USA.

Gurpreet Kalra

Head of Talent & Development, UK & Ireland

In his capacity as Head of Talent and Development at TCS UK&I, Gurpreet is delivering transformational outcomes for businesses across multiple geographies and domains whilst contributing to human capital by being: OD and Change Facilitator, Hogan Certified Assessor and Development Coach, ATD Certified Leadership Journeys Designer & Applied Leadership Faculty.

Gopalan Rajagopalan

Country Head, Scotland

Gopalan has worked with Tata Consultancy Services for over 20 years, successfully growing existing relationships and acquiring new clients in Scotland before becoming Country Head. Gopalan is closely involved in TCS’ innovation initiatives, collaborating with universities & supporting organisations. He supports TCS Scotland’s STEM programmes educating students from primary school through to university and leads a number of initiatives focused on developing Diversity & Inclusion in the workplace.

Kate Hopper

Climate Policy Manager

Kate Hopper is a passionate supporter of Scottish food and farming. With a background in land use and climate change mitigation, Kate joined NFU Scotland in 2021 as Climate Change Policy Manager to ensure a sustainable future for Scottish agriculture.

Paul de Leeuw

Director, Energy Transition Institute

Paul is a senior industry leader and executive with over 33 years’ experience in the global energy sector. He has worked for a wide range of companies, including Shell, Marathon Oil, Amoco, BP, Venture Production and Centrica.

He is currently the Director of Robert Gordon University’s Energy Transition Institute, Chair of the National Energy Skills Accelerator, Chair of PlanSea Solutions, a Board member of the International School in Aberdeen and a Professor at Robert Gordon University (UK).

Ronnie Quinn

Chief Executive

Ronnie is Chief Executive of NECCUS, the membership organisation supporting and representing members through the challenge of industrial decarbonisation primarily through Carbon Capture and Hydrogen. He has over 30 years’ experience in general management, with specific experience in the renewables and electricity industries. Ronnie’s professional career began as a solicitor where he worked both in private practice and in local government.

InterContinental Edinburgh the George

InterContinental Edinburgh the George

The InterContinental Edinburgh The George has been welcoming hotel guests since 1881. At its heart are five listed Georgian townhouses, built in 1775 as homes for Edinburgh’s most prosperous citizens. Today, The InterContinental Edinburgh The George offers all luxuries of an InterContinental life in the heart of the Scottish capital.

Kimpton Edinburgh Charlotte Square

Kimpton Edinburgh Charlotte Square

Kimpton Edinburgh Charlotte Square

Perched on the edge of a picturesque private garden in the New Town, Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel blends traditional glamour with the Scotland of today.

Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa

Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa

A travel program with extraordinary hotel brands and endless experiences.