New Regional Advisory Board Chairs announced for Scottish Enterprise
Five leading business figures from across Scotland have been appointed as chairs of Scottish Enterprise’s new Regional Advisory Boards representing Aberdeen City and Shire, Tayside, and East, West and South Scotland.
The advisory boards will play a key role in Scottish Enterprise’s industry strategy by identifying and shaping potential new projects and programmes within their regions that will help meet the needs of Scotland’s key industries and improve Scotland’s overall economic performance.
The five new chairs are:
- Tom Smith, Managing Director, Nessco – Aberdeen City and Shire
- Jim McPhillimy, Director, Scottish &Southern Energy – Tayside
- Colin Stewart, Managing Director, Citi – East of Scotland
- Graeme Waddell - West of Scotland
- Gareth Baird, Chairman, Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society – South of Scotland
The advisory boards will consist mainly of private sector representatives but will also include partner organisations such as local authorities and universities.
Jack Perry, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, says: “We are committed to engaging with businesses across Scotland as a core part of how we plan and prioritise our activities and we are delighted to have secured such high calibre individuals to lead our Regional Advisory Boards.
“This private sector led approach has already proven to be successful in a number of our programmes, such as the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service and in the delivery of our investment funds, and we want to ensure we can learn from these experiences. These talents will be joined by senior figures from the public sector to ensure economic development activities continue to be in line with the Scottish Government Economic Strategy.
“All of the appointed chairs have extensive experience of developing businesses within their regions and their input will be invaluable as we strive to develop an environment that offers Scotland’s key industries and our business customers the best opportunities to grow."
Full membership of the Regional Advisory Boards are currently being finalised and the first board meetings are scheduled to take place during September.
Details of the five new Regionally Advisory Board chairs are:
- Tom Smith is Managing Director of Nessco, one of the UK’s largest independent providers of telecommunication services and solutions to the global oil and gas industry. Mr Smith was also chairman of Aberdeen City & Shire Economic Forum
- Jim McPhillimy is Director of HR for Scottish & Southern Energy. Based in Perth he has group responsibilities for all HR activities and HR strategy. Mr McPhillimy is a Main Board Director of Scotia Gas Networks plc, where he also chairs the Board Safety Committee and the Remuneration Committee. He is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer.
- Colin Stewart is Managing Director of Citi, responsible for all corporate and investment activity in Scotland. A graduate of the University of Glasgow, Mr Stewart joined Citi in 1987 initially responsible for Citibank’s foreign exchange and treasury in Europe. He is also chairman of Citi Pensions & Trustees Ltd, a director of Scottish Financial Enterprise and a member of the Institute of Directors.
- Graeme Waddell is a former Business Director of Rolls Royce Aero Repair and Overhaul responsible for providing leadership and business focus for the 1,000 people employed by Rolls Royce in East Kilbride. Since retiring from Rolls Royce, Mr Waddell has established up his own energy renewable company. Mr Waddell is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and is a graduate of the University of Strathclyde.
- Gareth Baird is chairman of the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society and is one of the leading figures in the South of Scotland’s agricultural and food and drink sector. He is also chairman of Scott Country Potato Growers Ltd, vice chairman of Grainco Ltd, and a director of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. Mr Baird is also Deputy Lieutenant for Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale.