INTERNATIONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Court Member
- Member of the University Court
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Andrew is a lay member of the University Court, appointed on 1 February 2024.
Job Titles:
- Interim Director of Finance / Interim Director of Finance
Dame Prue Leith CBE, writer, restaurateur and cookery expert, took up the role of Chancellor of ���ӽ紫ý in July 2017, stepping down in 2024.
Prue has an impressive track record as an entrepreneur having successfully built a business from scratch in the 1960s which grew to become Leith's Good Food, the party and event caterer. In 1969, she opened Leith's, her famous Michelin starred restaurant, and, in 1975, founded Leith's School of Food and Wine which trains professional chefs and amateur cooks. The group, employing 500 people, reached a turnover of £15m in 1993 when she sold out all but the restaurant, which she went on to sell in 1995.
Her skills as a businesswoman and her concern with the need for more women at the top of industry, the City and public life led to her appointment as a non-executive director of many top organisations such as British Rail, Safeway, Whitbread, and Belmond (formerly Orient Express) hotels.
Now, Prue mainly works as a writer (with several novels and an autobiography Relish: My Life on a Plate to her credit) and as a TV presenter, currently appearing in The Great British Bake Off, having previously appeared in The Great British Menu and My Kitchen Rules U.K.
A champion of education, Prue was a member of the National Task Force setting up National Vocational Qualifications. She has held numerous other public appointments but the one she has described as the most important of her long career so far has been her role as Chair of the School Food Trust (2006 - 2010), orchestrating the British Government's campaign to replace foods high in salt, sugar and fat with freshly cooked healthy food. Some of her other public appointments include Chair of the Restaurateurs' Association and membership of a Consumer Debt Commission.
Echoing ���ӽ紫ý's focus on making a real practical difference to people's lives, she has a deep-rooted commitment to social responsibility. As Chair of the RSA, she founded the charity ‘Focus on Food', which, in partnership with the Soil Association, set up the Food for Life initiative that works in schools focusing on cooking and sustainability.
Also while at the RSA, she led the successful campaign to use the empty plinth in London's Trafalgar Square to house changing sculptures or installations by the best contemporary artists.
She has become passionate about the care and rights of people who are dying, having witnessed her brother's unnecessary suffering in hospital at the end of his life. She is now involved with the ‘Dignity in Dying' campaign, believing that much work needs to be done to improve end of life care and to provide choice for those who are dying.
Prue has received no less than eleven honorary degrees or fellowships from UK universities, including one from ���ӽ紫ý in 1997. In addition, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1989 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours list.
Job Titles:
- Quality Enhancement & Research Degrees
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Editor
- Psychiatrist
- Member of University Court
Arturo Langa is a Consultant Psychiatrist in the NHS in Scotland and has held senior clinical management roles. An experienced Non-executive Director, most recently Arturo sat on the Board of Turning Point Scotland where he was also Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.
Job Titles:
- Court Member
- Member of University Court
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Dr Kavi Jagadamma (PhD, PgCert, PGDEI, BSc) is a Senior Lecturer in the Dietetics, Nutrition & Biological Sciences, Physiotherapy, Podiatry & Radiography Division. He is also an Associate member of Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research.
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Dean of the School of Health Sciences / Dean of the School of Health Sciences
Job Titles:
- Court Member
- Member of University Court
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Court Member
- Member of the University Court
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Ellenore is a lay member of the University Court, appointed on 1 March 2024.
Job Titles:
- Court Member
- Member of University Court
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Sports Field Group ( Secretary
Job Titles:
- Secretary, University Court / Secretary, University Court
- Vice Principal and University Secretary
- Vice Principal and University Secretary / Vice Principal and University Secretary
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Chairman of University Court
- Chairman of University Court / Chair of University Court
- Court Member
- Role of Chair of the University Court
Pamela Woodburn took up the role of Chair of the University Court on 1 April 2021, having been elected to the role by an electorate made up of the University's students, staff and Court members, and following a competitive application and interview process.
Pamela has worked in senior leadership roles in both strategic and operational roles in non-executive and executive positions. During her varied career, she has held high ranking positions in a number of sectors including in economic development, housing and international development, as well as in both further and higher education.
With significant governance experience gained over the last 20 years, Pamela was a member of the Court of Edinburgh Napier University - five years of which she served as Vice Chair.
Outside education, Pamela has chaired the board of a major housing organisation and has worked to support social enterprise and charitable organisations. Earlier in her career she was Senior Director of the government agency, Scottish Enterprise, and held a number of strategic and operational roles.
Aligning with ���ӽ紫ý's specialisms, throughout her career Pamela has supported Scottish companies in key industries such as tourism, food and drink, creative industries and financial services. She has also developed programmes for Business Gateway and has a passion for nutrition, health and wellbeing, as well as supporting entrepreneurship.
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Vice - Chancellor
- Ex Officio, Principal and Vice - Chancellor / Ex Officio, Principal and Vice - Chancellor / View Profile
Job Titles:
- CVO CBE KCSG DL
- Founding Chancellor
Sir Tom Farmer was ���ӽ紫ý's Founding Chancellor, appointed when the University gained full university title in 2007. He stepped down from his post in 2015, having done much to promote the University and to inspire students during his eight years of service.
Sir Tom Farmer is one of Scotland's leading and most highly respected entrepreneurs. He was born in 1940, the youngest of seven children and brought up in Leith. Tom opened his first tyre business in 1964 and by 1969 had sold it and "retired" to the USA with his family. He has been married to Anne for 46 years and they have two children and three grandchildren.
By 1971 Tom returned to Edinburgh to found Kwik-Fit, which became one of the world's largest automotive repair specialists, operating through more than 2,300 locations in the UK and Europe and employing over 11,000 people. It grew into a £1billion business by 1999 when it was purchased by the Ford Motor Company.
Sir Tom joined the board of Ford Customer Service Division in the USA and resigned in 2002 to carry on with other business interests. Those interests include property development and investments in new business start-ups, and he is a major shareholder in the Hibernian Football Club.
Sir Tom's business career has brought him many accolades and he has also received many honours both at home and abroad for his tireless work as a philanthropic leader in the community.
In 1990 he was awarded the CBE and in 1993 the President of Poland awarded him The Knight Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. In 1996 Queen Beatrix awarded him Officier in de Orde van Orange-Nassau of The Netherlands. In 1997 he was knighted by the Queen and also received the highest accolade possible from Pope John Paul II when he was made Knight Commander with Star of the Order of St Gregory the Great. In 2006, he was the first Scot to be awarded the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.
Job Titles:
- Member of University Court / Member of University Court
Job Titles:
- Research and Knowledge Exchange Unit
Job Titles:
- Dean of School of Arts and Social Sciences & Business, Enterprise and Management