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Professor David Gaimster, Director of The Hunterian, has been appointed to the board of Historic Environment Scotland (HES).

Historic Environment Scotland has been established as the new body to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment. This will build on the strong and long-established performance of Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

Professor Gaimster's appointment was announced this week by Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, along with the the first Chair and another eight board members.

Jane Ryder OBE, former Chief Executive of the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator and Chair of Arts & Business Scotland, was announced as chair of the new board.

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. None of the appointees have undertaken any political activity in the last five years.

The other appointees are:

• Dr Janet Brennan is Chair of the Scottish Castles Association, conservationist and author.
• Alan Clarke has over 40 years’ experience in tourism, leisure and marketing and retired in September 2014 as CEO of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. 
• Trudi Craggs is qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and is a partner in CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
• Andrew Holmes qualified as a civil engineer and has worked in a variety of public sector posts dealing with planning, technical and property issues, retiring as Director of City Development for Edinburgh City Council in 2008. 
• Dr Coinneach Maclean trained as an archaeologist and was Deputy Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland. 
• Dr Fiona McLean is Vice Chair of the Board of Governors for the University of the Highlands and Islands. 
• Dr Paul Stollard is an architect who has specialised in the fire safety of buildings for over 30 years. He has taught architectural design and history in a number of universities.
• Dr Ken Thomson took up his role as Principal of Forth Valley College in August 2013 following six years as Depute Principal.

The Board will shortly begin preparatory work, prior to taking up its full powers on 1 October 2015.

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Further Background on the new board

Chair

Jane Ryder has had a varied career, including a practice in maritime law and now specialising in regulation and organisational development. She has a long record within the cultural sector and previous roles include eight years as Chief Executive of the Scottish Museums Council, where she developed the first National Strategy for Scotland’s museums and was one of the original Board members of SCRAN. Jane was also the first Chief Executive of OSCR, successfully establishing the new regulatory regime for charities in Scotland. She is an experienced Non Executive as a former Chair of the Scottish Refugee Council and Vice Chair of Stevenson College and in March 2015, she steps down as Deputy Chair of the Seafish Industry Authority, and as Chair of Arts & Business Scotland. She is a Board member of the Marine Management Organisation.

In January 2015 she was appointed as one of the first Board members of Revenue Scotland, the new tax authority for Scotland for which she receives £275 per day for a time commitment of around three days per month although this commitment will be higher in the first year.

Other Board Members

Member appointments require a time commitment of 16 days per annum and the appointments are not remunerated.

Professor David Gaimster is an experienced museum director and academic with extensive knowledge and profile in the international cultural heritage and historic environment. He has worked for over 25 years in senior roles in national museums, in government policy making on cultural property, and as the CEO of a national Learned Society and conservation charity. Since 2010 he has been Director of The Hunterian at the University of Glasgow, Scotland’s largest university museum service and the oldest museum in Scotland. He is currently spearheading the development of The Hunterian Study Centre for collections research, teaching and learning at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. Professor Gaimster has a proven track record in project delivery, innovation, organisational change, fundraising and partnership building. He is a Member of the Board of Museums Galleries Scotland which will help ensure closer strategic alignment between cultural heritage and historic environment policy in Scotland.

Professor Gaimster does not hold any other Ministerial appointments. He has been appointed for three years and his appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2018.

Dr Janet Brennan is Chair of the Scottish Castles Association and a passionate champion of the historic built environment. She gives regular lectures on the restoration of Scottish castles and castles at risk. Together with her husband, she restored Barholm Castle in Galloway from a ruinous state in 2003-5.

Her book, Scotland’s Castles, Rescued, Rebuilt and Reoccupied, published last July, details the stories of over 100 restored castles. She has a broad portfolio of trusteeships in various sectors (arts, heritage, education, tourism) and much experience in successfully managing people, managing change, and working in teams. Dr Brennan is a Member of the Board of Management at Dumfries and Galloway College.

Dr Brennan does not hold any other Ministerial appointments. She has been appointed for two years and her appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2017

Alan Clarke has over 40 years’ experience in tourism, leisure and marketing and retired in September 2014 as CEO of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. He has a successful track record in a variety of leadership roles in high profile public and public /private organisations throughout the UK. His experience includes strategic brand and market development; key product development and regeneration initiatives in tourism, culture and heritage; visitor experience development; the attraction and development of world class events and the re-positioning of an organisation’s remit and reputation, including organisational change programme. His strength has been on turning vision into successful delivery underpinned by collaborative efforts and focus by both public and private sectors and with key stakeholder engagement. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a Fellow of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing and an Institute of Directors Chartered Director.

Mr Clarke does not hold any other Ministerial appointments. He has been appointed for two years and his appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2017.

Trudi Craggs is qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and is a partner in CMS Cameron McKenna LLP. She is highly regarded as a specialist in planning and transport, advising both public and private sectors on all aspects of the planning system. She has represented Historic Scotland at public inquiries and has a detailed knowledge and understanding of Scottish Government policy for the historic environment as well as the challenges facing the historic environment. She is also a member of the Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership.

Ms Craggs does not hold any other Ministerial appointments. She has been appointed for four years and her appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2019.

Andrew Holmes qualified as a civil engineer and has worked in a variety of public sector posts dealing with planning, technical and property issues, retiring as Director of City Development for Edinburgh City Council in 2008. He has a strong personal interest in how the physical elements of Scotland's History are better understood across the whole community.

Mr Holmes is a member of the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland which advises Ministers on transport issues as they affect disabled people. He receives remuneration of £100 per day for a time commitment of 1 day per month. He is also a Trustee of National Museums of Scotland. This requires a time commitment of 1 day per month and is not remunerated. He has been appointed for four years and his appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2019.

Dr Coinneach Maclean is a Gaelic speaker brought up on the Island of South Uist. Trained as an archaeologist, his subsequent career in deer farming, community business development and housing investment has given him an understanding of the economic and cultural challenges facing many communities particularly north of the ‘Highland Line’. His time as Deputy Chief Executive of the National Trust for Scotland gave him a deep appreciation of the complexities involved in the stewardship of natural and heritage assets. His doctoral thesis examined Gaeldom's place in the grand narrative of Scotland as it is presented in its mass tourism industry. Dr Maclean is Member of the Scottish Committee of the National House Builders Council and a Trustee of The Auchindrain Trust.

Dr Maclean does not hold any other Ministerial appointments. He has been appointed for three years and his appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2018.

Dr Fiona McLean is Vice Chair of the Board of Governors for the University of the Highlands and Islands. As Professor of Cultural Heritage Management at Glasgow Caledonian University, Fiona had an international reputation and was invited to present at conferences throughout the world. Her research focused in particular on the role of heritage in negotiating identity and in ameliorating social exclusion. In recent years, Fiona has worked with over 40 community groups, developing local and national historic environment projects.

Dr McLean does not hold any other Ministerial appointments. She has been appointed for three years and her appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2018.

Dr Paul Stollard is an architect who has specialised in the fire safety of buildings for over 30 years. He has taught architectural design and history in a number of universities, run an architectural technology company and held a number of senior posts in the civil service. He was responsible for the reform of the Scottish building standards and has also been the Regional Director for the Health and Safety Executive covering Scotland and northern England. He has written extensively on fire safety, technology and architectural history.

Dr Stollard is a Non-executive Director at NHS Health Scotland and receives £8,088 per annum for a time commitment of two days per month. He has been appointed for four years and his appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2019.

Dr Ken Thomson took up his role as Principal of Forth Valley College in August 2013 following six years as Depute Principal. He has a degree in Zoology from Nottingham University and a PhD in Veterinary Entomology from Edinburgh University. As a Senior Countryside Ranger, he started his teaching career in environmental studies before becoming Head of Science then part of the College’s senior team in 2003. In 2005, Dr Thomson took a lead role in the merger of two colleges to form the fifth largest college in Scotland.

Over the past few years, Ken has led in innovative partnerships in supporting Historic Scotland’s National Conservation Centre in Stirling and the College’s unique training facilities for facilities management in Alloa, for Scottish Power and Ineos in Falkirk. In November 2014, Forth Valley College were awarded the prestigious Association of Colleges Beacon Award for innovation in FE.

Dr Thomson does not hold any other Ministerial appointments. He has been appointed for two years and his appointment runs from 19 January 2015 until 18 January 2017.

The Chair and Member appointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland.

First published: 28 January 2015