Arts & Business Scotland (A&BS) has announced a new Chair of its Board of Trustees. Diana Murray has been appointed to replace Sarah Deas, who has stepped down due to personal circumstances.

Commenting on her new role Diana Murray said: “I am delighted to be taking on the Chair of Arts & Business Scotland.  We are very sad to see Sarah Deas leave us, and she will be a hard act to follow, but I look forward to the challenge of leading A&BS through the next period of its development.”

Sarah Deas added: “Having recruited Diana to the Board, I know she brings a wealth of experience from within the cultural heritage sector having previously been Chief Executive of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and recently also joint CEO of Historic Scotland”.

Diana studied archaeology at Cambridge University and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and an Honorary Fellow of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh. She is currently a Senior Executive in the newly created organisation Historic Environment Scotland and for many years she was a non-executive director of the National Trust for Scotland. Diana is a trustee of the Scottish Waterways Trust, The Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh, The Scottish International Education Trust, the Scottish Seabird Centre and is a member if the Institute of Directors