Four directors get on board at Marketing Edinburgh

● New additions form part of move to increase agility ● Backgrounds include working for Aegon and RBS

Marketing Edinburgh has named a quartet of new board members, tasked with shaping the future direction of the capital to a global audience.

The four non-executive directors come from a range of marketing, finance and corporate backgrounds and have had careers spanning organisations as diverse as Cadbury, Wood Mackenzie and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The appointments form part of a shake-up of governance at the organisation aimed at making it “more agile”.

More than 40 candidates are said to have applied for the four non-remunerated posts. They will actively supporting Marketing Edinburgh in its partner collaboration, with the first task being the formulation of a three- to five-year strategic plan.

The new hires are: Claire Harrison-church, who brings 30 years’ of experience working with the likes of Unilever, Sainsbury’s and most recently Asda; New Zealander Paul Rowllings, who has been based in Edinburgh for the last 20 years, and has worked with Wood Mackenzie and Aegon; Sandra Blake, who started her career in marketing at Cadbury and moved to Scottish & Southern Energy in 2015 as head of talent and development; and Stephen Ingledew, who has worked with AMP, Barclays Wealth and Standard Life.

A fifth non-executive, Gordon Rintoul, director National Museum of Scotland, who sat on the original Marketing Edinburgh board, will continue his role to aid the transition of the new team.

The non-execs will join three City of Edinburgh councillors – Lord Provost Frank Ross, Jo Mowat and Gordon Munro – alongside an observer on the board. Marketing Edinburgh’s chief executive, John Donnelly, and chair Gordon Robertson, director of communications at Edinburgh Airport, will continue their roles.

Robertson said: “It’s rare for an organisation to be recruiting four non-executive appointments simultaneously.

“Ensuring we secured the right blend of personalities as well as complementary skillsets was a huge priority and critical to Marketing Edinburgh’s ongoing success as it moves to the next level.

“The high standard of quality candidates that applied for the non-executive positions is a testament to the work of John Donnelly and the Marketing Edinburgh team over the last few years to transform the organisation into a credible marketing agency that has delivered record breaking results for the city.” The Teague Group has started work on a new development that will bring hundreds of homes to Leith. The Ropeworks site has been undeveloped for about ten years and it is expected that the first phase will complete in the second half of 2018. Rettie & Co has been appointed as selling agent for the site – named after the Roperie and Sailcloth Company, founded there in 1750. Rettie’s Craig Gillespie is pictured flanked by Shane, left, and Dan Teague of Teague Group.