Did you enjoy school?
Yes, to an extent. I didn’t like Art because I couldn’t draw and still can’t; unless you want a matchstick man or square car. But history was my favourite subject and I loved science.

What qualifications do you have?
O-grade English and a few SVQ modules in administration; I liked school, I wasn’t always good at it though.
Has your career path been a smooth transition, a rocky road or a combination of both?
It’s been a relatively smooth journey. I started my career as an office junior on the YTS (Youth Training Scheme) back in the late 80s and progressed from there, but it was always within administrative roles. My first job was in a training company who helped entrepreneurs start and run their own businesses – a fitting introduction to the world of innovation.
From there, I went into purchasing with a large food company and then onto semiconductors, eventually landing a role working with a small start-up bringing nano technologies to market which involved collaborating with Scottish Universities’ commercialisation services.
In 2004, I joined ScotlandIS and the rest was history. I started in a role that looked after the membership, events and general admin duties, and over the years, progressed through the business where I took on the CEO role in 2021.
Looking back, every role I had taught me valuable lessons that led me on a path to where I am today. Each step built upon the last and I’m grateful for the journey.
What is the best career advice you can give to others?
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have it all figured out right now. Life will throw you curveballs, so don’t worry about always being ten steps ahead. Instead, focus on being brave and understanding the transferrable skills you already have – skills that apply across various roles and sectors. Just because you chose one career path, doesn’t mean you have to be pigeonholed. With patience and determination, you’ll quickly find your way into a career you love, like Scottish tech!
If you had to pick one mentor, that had the biggest influence on you, who would it be?
Without a doubt it would be Peter Proud, CEO and founder of Forrit. Peter gave me the courage to be brave and break out of my comfort zone and has been an invaluable mentor. He taught me how to be a leader and still supports me today.
From where do you draw inspiration?
Our ScotlandIS members. I’m lucky to witness entrepreneurs grow and develop from the start of their journey into successful business owners. It’s a privilege to see these businesses take an innovative idea and turn it into a flourishing organisation that’s not only highly successful but is changing the face of tech in Scotland and globally. And I get a front row seat to it all, who wouldn’t be inspired?
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What is the biggest challenge you have faced to date?
For me, it was taking on the role of CEO. I’ve worked with ScotlandIS for over 20 years and felt responsible for ensuring the business, and our 1200 members, continued to be successful under new leadership. Being CEO was never the goal for me and believing I could do the job, and do it well, was a personal challenge. But with a strong support network around me, I overcame that imposter syndrome feeling and can honestly say, everything ScotlandIS has achieved in the last three years is a reflection of that support.
What qualities do you feel makes a good leader?
Having empathy, self-awareness and the ambition to succeed. A good leader empowers others, helping them develop their skills and giving them confidence to be successful.
From a work viewpoint what has the last 12 months been like?
Busy! We are a small team of 10 looking after 1200 members across the entire Scottish tech sector. Much like any organisation, elements of the year have certainly been challenging. But with a fantastic network of support from our members, team and partners, we’ve achieved a lot this year.
For instance, our scholarship, launched in partnership with The Education Academy to tackle the digital skills gap, has seen great success with 100 percent of scholars passing their exam and improving their grade in National 5 Maths.
Managed Services have also been a big focus for us with our ITMS Best Practice Charter seeing significant interest across the UK as discussions of partnerships with cyber clusters and governments progress.
What would you say are the biggest tech-based challenges we face today?
There are a few, but I would say the key challenges the industry faces today fall under AI and cyber. AI continues to become more embedded in everyday products and services, but with that comes critical considerations around security, ethics and bias and they must remain front of mind. While it’s a powerful tool that can and should be used, it’s important to remember that models like ChatGPT learn from human data, which makes the quality and integrity of that data crucial. We must be mindful of the data we’re feeding it to ensure they serve businesses positively and responsibly.
When it comes to cyber, the risk of a breach for anyone, in any company, continues to increase – not just in numbers but complexity. From phishing and social engineering to ransomware and insider threats, the risks are multifaceted and we must be mindful of them all to ensure our supply chain is as resilient as it can be. It’s no longer a question of if an attack will happen, but when. So let’s be prepared.
What can be done to encourage more women into the industry?
We need to start at the grassroots. Exposure to the sector from an early age will ensure young women are aware of the opportunities throughout their entire education journey. As an industry, we must ensure they have the right role models in place to learn from and we must encourage more inclusive hiring practices. With a varied workforce consisting of people from all cultures, genders, religions and backgrounds, we will unlock new innovation and creativity from a diversity of thoughts and opinions.
Give us a fact about you that most other people wouldn’t know.
I’m a huge reality TV fan – I love the drama.