PROSPER - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Worker
- Admin & Digital Co - Ordinator
Some say Adèle is a miracle worker, and she certainly needs her superwoman cape to keep Prosper's office and IT systems running smoothly for the Scotland-wide team.
Working with key suppliers to meet the needs of the team and organisation, she manages digital projects and implements new approaches which transform the way Prosper works. Adèle supports the team's admin tasks hugely with her keen eye for detail - she absolutely loves a spreadsheet!
Outside of the 9 to 5, she enjoys exploring new places with her family, often scouting out destinations which are off the beaten path.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Social Media Co - Ordinator
One minute he might be promoting in-depth policy work and the next he's publicising events or just-published reports. Alasdair makes sure that Prosper's digital presence remains up to date - his job is to keep on top of the website, social media streams and direct marketing. He's a problem-solver who enjoys identifying new ways to improve the way Prosper works.
In his spare time, Alasdair enjoys photography and graphic design as well as all things DIY.
Alastair Sim has been Director of Universities Scotland since July 2009, joining from the Scottish Civil Service.
Since 2009 he has navigated the Scottish HE sector through two Scottish elections, two general elections, a referendum on Scottish independence, several spending reviews and a funding gap.
Job Titles:
- Digital & Event Co - Ordinator
- Member of the Productivity Club Scotland
Alison is an essential member of the Productivity Club Scotland team, managing the Club's online presence and external communications, as well as organising and promoting all the monthly events.
She loves to make the most of online tools for digital storytelling, using these to help support others and make a positive impact. Alison has a degree in Law and Psychology, and prior to joining Prosper, worked mainly in the third sector.
Away from work Alison enjoys being a mum, baking and delving into all things true crime.
Job Titles:
- Commercial Director, Peterson ( United Kingdom ) Ltd
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- CFO Asset Solutions EAAA, Wood
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- Chief Executive, Aberdeen City Council
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- CEO
- CEO of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
Anna Fowlie has been CEO of The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) since 2018.
She was previously CEO of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). Before joining the SSSC, which registers people who work in social services and regulates their education and training, Fowlie worked for the Scottish government, leading a team that focused on improving outcomes for looked-after children.
Benjie has been taking things apart to find out how they work since he was tiny - but putting them back together again wasn't always so easy!
This inquisitive mind has proved useful in his work with YESC, where he designs STEM projects, hosts teacher training workshops and delivers pupil events. Benjie was responsible for the popular Go Forth challenge - which involved designing a 2 metre bridge from lollipop sticks and cable ties, strong enough to support 50 standard bottles of water - and many similar projects. As an electronic engineer by trade, he also works with Edinburgh Laser Optics, Cramasie and CreativEnergie alongside YESC.
Job Titles:
- Group Financial Director, Balmoral Group
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- Chief Executive, Port of Aberdeen / Secretary
- Port of Aberdeen As Chief Executive
Bob Sanguinetti joined Port of Aberdeen 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.
Job Titles:
- External Affairs & Government Relations Manager, Total E & P UK Ltd
Carol Anne is Prosper's very own organisational genius.
A born organiser, she puts those skills to good use at Prosper by managing our annual events calendar. She's responsible for bringing members together to network, collaborate and, hopefully, have a bit of fun while they're about it. From printing badges to teaching celebrity hosts to use digital event platforms, Carol Anne does the lot. No matter how complex an event is Carol Anne can always come back to her core strengths of structure, spreadsheets and smiling through the chaos.
Outside of work, she enjoys puzzles and cryptic crosswords, and knits like nobody's business.
Carolyn keeps Prosper straight when it comes to money.
As an important member of the accounts team, she offers administration, credit control and accounts support for her colleagues. Carolyn's been helping to keep our accounts right since 2021. However, life's not all about numbers and columns for Carolyn, she loves living near Glasgow city centre and likes frequenting the shops, restaurants and bars at weekends. She enjoys spending her free time with her family and friends, and has a special place in her heart for travelling and shopping.
Carolyn also makes regular trips to and from London to spend time with her husband who works there.
An integral part of the events team, Claire manages all the intricacies of the events calendar, ensuring that everything happens when it's supposed to, with no detail left behind.
Claire is always on the lookout for new ways of working, particularly when it comes to making processes more efficient. She is also an invaluable addition to the team when it comes to improving Prosper's sustainability credentials and bringing colleagues together socially (Cake Wednesday being just one notable innovation).
When she's not organising and planning events, she loves trying new restaurants and cafes, is an escape room afficionado, and bakes a mean carrot cake.
Job Titles:
- Director of Policy & Public Affairs
Clare looks after our Policy team and leads on government and stakeholder engagement, our Productivity Clubs and Young Engineers and Science Clubs. She loves working with our fantastic, talented team across all of these areas and getting to meet the most amazing array of people in her daily work. She really enjoys finding out about what's going on in their worlds, uncovering future trends and bringing people from diverse industries, sectors and backgrounds together to make a difference.
Dave's long experience in STEM subjects (36 years as an Engineer and 5 years as a Physics teacher) is perfect for his work with YESC, where he develops science, engineering and maths activities.
He really enjoys presenting them to young people when he gets the chance. It's important to Dave that he makes sure that YESC present accurate and relevant science in simple language to young people, and of course, that it's good fun!
When not doing science stuff, Dave likes to bag Munros (slowly), is trying his hand at curling, or can be found fixing up his cottage in Orkney.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray Speyside, VisitScotland
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- Managing Director, LiceComb Engineering
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- Vice - Principal Economic Development, Robert Gordon University
Working closely with the Policy Team, Sophie will work with members toward shared priorities for a sustainable and prosperous Scotland. Having previously worked in the third sector, Sophie looks forward to representing and collaborating with members from across Scottish society on a range of important topics.
Sophie gained her PhD Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Glasgow's Dumfries Campus where she conducted research examining the opportunities for agricultural education in Scottish secondary schools through Curriculum for Excellence. She also holds a Master of Science in Environmental Policy and Governance and is passionate about working toward a more circular and sustainable Scotland.
Away from the office, Sophie loves taking in Scotland's stunning scenery - usually from a walk or bike and always involving coffee and bacon rolls!
As a passionate science communicator, Eira really enjoys developing, coordinating and delivering impactful digital and face-to-face programmes for YESC.
She is particularly interested in creating accessible learning resources which help promote inclusivity in STEM. Her work at YESC focuses on the Climate Smarter project, which is designed to enthuse and inspire school pupils to use their creative thinking to come up with solutions to the biggest global problems which face them now, and into their future.
Eleonora is Productivity Club Scotland's hunter-gatherer!
Her role is to connect people and provide places where they can learn from each other's experiences. To do that she hunts for inspirational leaders who share their stories, explaining the challenges and achievements of running an organisation. Eleonora is also skilled at gathering together people from all sorts of backgrounds who want learn from those stories and apply their new knowledge to be able to work better and smarter.
Eleonora is a real foodie and as an Italian in Scotland has been impressed with the country's very best produce.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive / Membership Administrator
Fiona is a Prosper veteran. She's been providing support to the Regional Managers for over 20 years, helping them generate membership leads and building productive relationships with members in the different regions. Fiona also assists Sara, Prosper's CEO, in her regular engagement with members. Away from work she likes to keep active, whether that's working out or walking her two Australian labradoodles. When she's not taxi-ing her children to activities, she'll pick up her latest cross stitch and relax in front of a warm fire, perhaps with a glass of wine.
Job Titles:
- / Chair, Highlands & Islands Committee
Fiona Larg has held senior positions in the public and private sectors in Scotland and, most recently, in the university sector. A chartered accountant by background she has gained experience across a wide variety of industry sectors with national and international clients through her work. Playing a formative role in the creation of the University of the Highlands and Islands as Chief Operating Officer and Secretary and was awarded the MBE in 2017 for services to higher education in Scotland.
Job Titles:
- Chairman, Aberdeen City & Shire Hotels Association
Job Titles:
- Head of Policy
- Secretary to the Policy Committee
Gareth works with our members to influence public policy in ways that we think will develop a more prosperous Scottish economy.
That work involves producing research reports and consultation responses, communicating members' views in Government meetings and creating opportunities for them to engage with key people on big issues. Gareth led Prosper's work on our Blueprints for Scotland's economy, and has written reports on subjects like tech, business purpose and natural capital.
Away from his policy brief, Gareth enjoys a daily run and racing or volunteering in parkrun at the weekend. A strong community is important to him and he chairs his primary school's parent council.
Job Titles:
- Regional Manager, Highlands & Islands
As our man in the north, Grant works closely with members from all sectors and industries to support their growth and development ambitions.
Organising thought leadership and networking events for members in the Highland & Islands and working with the regional committee to understand the ever-changing economic landscape, allows him to work collaboratively towards better prosperity in the region. Living in Ross-shire allows Grant to live an active outdoor life with his family.
Job Titles:
- the Crichton Trust / Chief Executive
Gwilym Gibbons is a social impact entrepreneur and senior leader with a strong track record in culture, heritage, and education leadership within rural and social enterprise settings with a passion for whole system and circular economy development focused on enabling places to be creative and healthy for people and the planet.
Job Titles:
- IT Entrepreneur
- Non - Executive Chairman of Tern Plc
Ian Ritchie is the non-executive Chairman of Tern plc, Computer Applications Service, Krotos, and is a Director of Prosper and the Royal Lyceum Theatre. He was Chairman of iomart Group plc from 2008-2018.
He founded OWL in 1984 which pioneered hypertext application development (a forerunner to the world wide web) and sold the company to Panasonic in 1989. Since then he has been involved in over 40 start-up high-tech businesses.
He serves on the board of the Royal Lyceum Theatre and Prosper.
Jane started her career in academic publishing before moving into IT business consultancy, economic development, knowledge exchange, business start-up and business development consultancy, across a wide range of sectors in private, public and third sector organisations.
She has spent many years as a senior executive and consultant advising organisations on strategies to become more competitive, innovative and reap cost benefits from technology solutions and business improvement across all aspects of their business.
Latterly she worked in the college sector consulting with a range of stakeholders and partners to help organisations develop their teams and create innovative practice. As a senior director she has led many teams bringing training and consultancy services to many organisations.
She is a board member at Prosper, a trustee board member at Floris Books and a member of the Policy Group at Scotland IS.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive
- Chief Executive of COSLA
Jane O'Donnell was appointed the Chief Executive of COSLA, the voice of local government in Scotland, in March 2023. COSLA is a councillor-led, cross-party organisation which champions councils' vital work to improve the lives of everyone in their communities. Jane has over 25 years' experience working in and with councils and, prior to her appointment, spent two years in senior roles in Scottish Government.
Jane has a particular interest in ensuring a whole system approach to public policy and public services. She has held senior trustee roles in several third sector organisations supporting women and girls. Jane was a founder member of the Suicide Prevention Leadership Group and is a strong advocate for the role of local government in wellbeing.
Job Titles:
- Director, F.G. Burnett Ltd
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- Chief Executive, Aberdeenshire Council
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- Regional Manager, North East
John has a long-standing affiliation with the North East and is proud to represent Prosper members from that area.
He lives in Aberdeen, and absolutely wants the city and region to thrive. John's working weeks are centred around meeting with existing members to try and understand the opportunities and challenges they are currently experiencing, and finding ways to help. He is heavily involved in developing a strong events schedule so local members can network, listen to quality speakers and experience many of the great venues in the region.
Julie just loves her work with young people.
She thinks it's brilliant to travel around the country to attend events and see the students' enthusiasm for STEM first hand. Julie particularly enjoys working closely with schools, industry partners and other STEM providers to promote, grow and expand the project's reach. She plays an important role coordinating YESC communication and marketing, distributing project and resource kits to schools across the country. Julie also organises our school workshops, teacher training and celebration of STEM events.
When not working, Julie can be found at the gym or out walking in local hills with friends.
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- Area Account Lead ( North Scotland ), Mott MacDonald Ltd
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- Chief Executive, Aberdeen Foyer
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- Member of the Policy Committee
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- Operations Director, Aberdeen International Airport
Melanie's work is varied and diverse and she welcomes every opportunity to contribute to YESC's growth and success.
She enjoys collaborating with schools, and forging strong ties with other STEM providers. As well as planning and implementing innovative activities and events for the project, Melanie helps organise teacher training workshops and creates engaging marketing materials, social media updates and project evaluations.
Outside work, you can usually find Melanie indulging her creativity with all kinds of crafts, both traditional and digital. However, crafting regularly gets put aside for walks with her energetic cocker spaniel puppy, Nova.
Job Titles:
- Regional Manager, Central & South of Scotland
One of the great joys of Mhairi's working life is that no two days are ever the same.
As one of Prosper's Regional Managers, covering Central and South of Scotland, her job is to look after existing members and recruit new ones. There's also plenty of event planning and hosting. Mhairi's a west coast lass, hailing from the Isle of Bute and now enjoying life in rural Stirlingshire, living in a B&B run by her husband.
She enjoys country walks and hill climbing with the family's cocker spaniel Cooper. Mhairi is also an occasional golfer, foodie, sports lover, music nerd and proud mum to Maisie & Tom.
Prosper's Policy Committee is a constitutionally bound part of the organisation, comprising 45 members.
Shonaig Macpherson has held a number of non-executive roles in the third and public sectors.
Shonaig qualified and practiced as a solicitor in the City of London and in Scotland, specialising in advising companies whose core asset is intellectual property. During her legal career Shonaig worked for Sir Terence Conran, established the in-house legal department of Harrods and advised the Albrecht family on the establishment of Aldi in the UK. Her legal career culminated in her appointment as Senior Partner of McGrigors now Pinsent Mason and she retired from the law in 2004.
Since then, Shonaig has undertaken several non-executive roles including as Chairman of the National Trust for Scotland, Prosper (formerly known as Scottish Council for Development and Industry), The Princes Trust, The Princes Scottish Youth Business Trust, The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Limited and the Robertson Trust.
With a strong commitment to education, Shonaig has served on the governing bodies of the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Open University, Heriot Watt University and Edinburgh Business School.
Shonaig was appointed as the first ever non-executive appointee to the Management and Strategic Boards of Scottish Government where she became the first lay person to chair its Audit Committee. From 2015 until 2020 she was Lead Non-Executive Member of the Management Board of the Office of Secretary of State for Scotland and the Office of the Advocate General. She was a member of the UK Government and Scottish Parliament's Commission on Scottish Devolution ("the Calman Commission"), the Scottish Executive's Culture Commission and its Knowledge Economy Task Force.
She is currently President of Prosper, Chair of the Advisory Panel of Quilter Cheviot CAIF, a trustee of the Scottish Golf Charitable Trust Limited, a trustee of Euan's Guide and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Nairne helps the Prosper policy team respond to consultations and maintain strong relationships with members.
She holds a Master's degree in international politics and human rights and came to Prosper via a career in the third sector. Nairne is passionate about making Scotland a better place, one molecule at a time.
When she isn't digesting weighty policy reports, Nairne enjoys taking care of her enormous plant collection, bouldering, and learning new things every day.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director, Stewart Milne Group
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- Vice - Princpal Regional Engagement and Regional Recovery, University of Aberdeen
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- Managing Director for CalMac Ferries Limited
Robbie Drummond is Managing Director for CalMac Ferries Limited and Executive Board Director for the David MacBrayne Group, a customer focused and multiple award winning ferries and port operations business with revenues in excess of £220m. He leads the delivery of services across 33 vessels, 51 ports and over 1,650 staff. He is passionate about leading teams through change and supporting community business. He is also Chairman of Stramash, a community based outdoor early education business.
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- Head of College, Robert Gordon 's College
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- Supply Chain Director, Petrofac
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- General Secretary
- STUC 's General Secretary
Rozanne Foyer is the STUC's General Secretary with over 25 years' experience in the trade union movement. Roz began as a workplace activist in the Benefits Agency. After leading a successful campaign against support services privatisation, she was recruited by the printer workers union as a trainee organiser, then as Assistant Secretary at the STUC. She went on to become a National Officer with the Transport and General Workers Union, later moving into Unite's National Organising Department.
Sabrina is queen of communications at Prosper.
She is in charge of our communications strategy, making sure that Prosper is proudly promoting what it does to all sorts of audiences, and sharing our many success stories. Before joining Prosper in 2023, Sabrina honed her communications skills across a range of roles including social housing, the third sector and higher education. She is passionate about making a difference and volunteered as a member of the Children's Panel in Glasgow for four years.
Sabrina's happy place is anywhere with friends and family - especially if it's sunny and good food is involved.
As the public face of Prosper, Sara works tirelessly to make sure members' thinking is shaping government and industry action.
She is a hands-on leader, working closely with the Prosper team to meet members' needs, and acts as the main point of communication between the board of directors and the staff team. It's very important to Sara that Prosper represents the true diversity of corporate and civil Scotland, and she's a huge advocate for purposeful ways of working.
Sara is a fair-weather wild swimmer who also loves discovering Scotland's places by bike and on foot. As well as mum-dancing to old soul music, she is hooked on history, current affairs, political podcasts and jazz gigs.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance & Corporate Services
Scott spends most of his working day staring intently at spreadsheets and haggling with his colleagues about why they want to spend money out of Prosper's precious budget.
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- Chief Executive, Peterhead Port Authority
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- Communications & Advocacy Manager, Bp Scotland
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- Special Advisor, Net Zero Technology Centre
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- Managing Director, Serco Northlink Ferries
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- Chairman & CEO, Trinity International Services Ltd
Science never stays still, and as the supremo of YESC, Thomas's job requires him to constantly update his knowledge and he learns something new every day.
His day-to-day work involves overseeing all of YESC's diverse education programs and partnerships in science and technology. With his team, Thomas develops science resource kits, experimenting with new ideas and distributing them to schools right across Scotland. He gets to travel around the country to deliver school workshops, teacher training CPDs, and events, while meeting with partners to secure funding, co-develop STEM activities, and arrange volunteering opportunities.