Robin Lingard - Chairman
Robin Lingard is SDRC's first Chairman of the Board.
His experience in the public sector, spanning a period of over thirty years, was mainly in the areas of policy formation, strategy development and strategic project management. For the past decade he has operated across the same broad areas on a freelance basis, undertaking a wide range of strategic consultancy assignments.
Before moving to the Highlands in 1988 he worked for some 25 years as an administrative Civil Servant in DTI and its predecessor departments, specialising in industrial policy in high technology sectors. In his final years in Whitehall he was seconded to the Cabinet Office, to form the Enterprise Unit, and to the Department of Employment, to take charge of small firms and tourism policy. He resigned from the Civil Service at the end of 1987 to take up an appointment as a full-time Board Member of the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB), then becoming Director of Training and Social Development in HIE when it was set up in 1991.
In 1993 he was seconded from HIE as the first Director of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Project, bringing it from the initial feasibility study to the point where it gained official endorsement from the Scottish Office and was awarded a grant of £33 million from the Millennium Fund. He took early retirement from HIE in May 1997 to set up his own consultancy, Kinnairdie Consulting.
For three years from its formation he chaired the Board of FUSION. He has also been active in the voluntary sector, as a Chairman and board member of various organisations.
In May 1999 he was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University by the Open University and in September 2006 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the UHI Millennium Institute. He was the co-author (with Sir Graham Hills) of “UHI – The Making of a University”.
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Douglas Mundie
Douglas Mundie has spent 25 years in manufacturing, primarily in high-technology plastics, for a wide variety of end-user markets. He worked throughout the UK, Europe, and America in senior positions in Sales, Marketing, and General Management, culminating in Divisional Board positions. In 2000, he worked for the public sector in Scotland, as CEO of Technology Ventures Scotland, a body developed to bring business, academia, and the public sector into closer understanding and co-operation.
Since then, he has held non-executive director and Chairman roles for a number of Scottish SMEs, helping to develop their business through innovation and renewed direction. He has worked with the University of St Andrews to build collaborative linkages between that University and South African universities and Government organisations. He is currently Chairman of the Ness Foundation and of Fusion, both based in Inverness.
In 2004, he co-founded two complementary consultancies with colleagues:
- Eden River Associates , based in Fife, to provide experienced management support to SMEs who wish to innovate and grow through utilising additional expertise
- 3a Advisers & Associates , a UK based grouping specialising in company turnaround work, primarily commissioned by the Banks and professional service providers
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Gary Campbell
Gary Campbell is a Chartered Accountant and has been involved with the SDRC since its inception. He trained with Ernst & Young and has a background in both audit and corporate finance and is currently a director of Campbell Hargreaves & Co, a Chartered Accountancy practice that specialises in the provision of Finance Director level services to entrepreneurial businesses. He also has an interest in sources of renewable energy and has presented papers and spoken at conferences on the subject of Combined Heat and Power systems and the quest for renewable energy products and systems that are both practical and sustainable.
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Bruce Morrison
Bruce describes his career as schizophrenic. In the first half, he was an industrial research scientist with Glaxo and Scottish & Newcastle Breweries attempting, amonst other things, to put some flavour into a certain brand that could barely call itself a beer. The second half was all about commercialising new products ending up running a subsidiary of Laporte plc that sold beer finings around the world. A redundancy led to a decision, in 2000, to abandon Scotland's southern neighbour and settle in the Highlands & Islands for a quieter life! That has still to happen due to enjoyable immersion in the whole issue of innovation and entrepreneurship with specific involvement in Fusion; a membership organisation for entrepreneurs and innovators. It's a pleasure to be involved once more with research, and specifically SDRCs focus on development that cares about our quality of life which is so special in the Highlands & Islands.
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