Leaders from EICC, Botanics and Bank of Scotland scoop prestigious IoD Scotland Awards
8 September 2020: IoD Scotland has tonight recognised Scotland’s top directors at its annual Director of the Year Awards, which were held virtually for the first time ever.
19 outstanding leaders collected awards in a ceremony that acknowledged the best in business across 12 key director categories, as well as seven regional and two special awards.
From Edinburgh, leaders from the EICC, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Bank of Scotland Foundation were recognised with an additional two leaders from iMultiply and Drylaw House being highly commended for their work over the last 12 months.
Marshall Dallas of EICC was awarded the title of Director of the Year for Small-Medium business, while Simon Milne MBE of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh scooped awards in both the Public Sector Director of the Year and Regional Director of the Year (Edinburgh and Lothians) categories.
Sarah Deas, of Bank of Scotland Foundation and Wellbeing Economy Alliance won the Non-Executive Director of the Year award, while John Anderson from iMultiply Resourcing Limited was highly commended in the same category.
Nicki Sturzaker, co-founder of Drylaw House in Edinburgh was also highly commended in the Start-up Director of the Year category.
Speaking about Marshall, judges commented: “The judges were impressed with Marshall’s commitment to staff and team development, and on the acquisition of knowledge and its application. Marshall’s contribution to Scotland is recognised by providing a venue and forum for commercial, academic and cultural exchanges. Resolution in overcoming challenges is apparent in tackling the shortage of hotel rooms in Edinburgh by planning to build a hotel linked to the EICC.”
Of Simon, judges said: “Simon has demonstrated excellent leadership and strategic thinking in the new strategy and capability he has built at RBGE. He also has shown the importance of leading his team through the transformation to drive better outcomes for them, the organisation and the community they serve. It was exciting to read about the changes Simon has led, the strategy he has built and is implementing whilst delivering for customers, the country and the environment.”
And of Sarah, judges said: “Sarah has contributed a great deal to her positions as a non-executive and has made a significant difference in each role. She has helped set up correct governance procedures and ensured that they are tailored to the situation and function properly for the organisation. Sarah delivers thoughtful and constructive challenge in an appropriate manner that is always received as intended – focused on business improvement. A strong example of an effective non-executive who has positively impacted governance, risk management and performance.”
The full list of winners is below:
| IoD Scotland Director of the Year – Large Business | Jim Galbraith, Scottish Friendly Assurance Ltd |
| IoD Scotland Director of the Year – Small-Medium Business | Marshall Dallas, EICC
Highly Commended: Michael Rolland, The Paint Shed |
| IoD Scotland Director of the Year – International | Colin Wade, Chemco International Ltd |
| Turcan Connell Director of the Year – Family Business | Ed Monaghan, Mactaggart & Mickel
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| SCVO Director of the Year – Third Sector | Iain MacRitchie, MCR Pathways
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| IoD Scotland Director of the Year – Public Sector | Simon Milne MBE, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |
| Insights Learning and Development Director of the Year – Young | Rebecca Bell, Spectrum Service Solutions Ltd
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| IoD Scotland Director of the Year – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion | Lynne Cadenhead, Women’s Enterprise Scotland |
| Scottish Government Director of the Year – Innovation | Martin Murray, Dunnet Bay Distillers Ltd |
| IoD Scotland Director of the Year – Start-Up | Dr Dave Hughes, Novosound
Highly Commended: Nicki Sturzaker, Drylaw House |
| Wheatley Group Director of the Year – Non-Executive | Sarah Deas, Bank of Scotland Foundation and Wellbeing Economy Alliance (Scotland)
Highly commended: John Anderson, iMultiply Resourcing Limited |
| Zero Waste Scotland Director of the Year – Social Value & Sustainability Impact | Martin McCrimmon, CMS Window Systems |
As well as the main categories, two special awards were made to:
| IoD Scotland Chair’s Award | Professor Heather McGregor CBE, Executive Dean of the Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University and Non-Executive Chairman of the Taylor Bennett Foundation |
| IoD Scotland Young Enterprise Scotland Award | Lyle Hamilton, Idiom / Dumfries & Galloway High School |
In addition, individual awards were made across the seven regions:
| Regional Directors of the Year Winners | |
| Edinburgh & Lothians | Simon Milne MBE, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |
| Central Scotland | Dr Ken Thomson OBE, Forth Valley College |
| Glasgow & West of Scotland | Iain MacRitchie, MCR Pathways
Special recognition: Vanessa Gilpin, strEAT Events Ltd |
| Highlands and Islands Enterprise Regional Director | Niall MacDonald, previously with Aquascot
Highly commended: Lisa Kerr, Gordonstoun |
| Tayside & Fife | Nathan Pyne-Carter, Ace Aquatec Ltd
Highly commended: Mike Robinson, Royal Scottish Geographical Society |
| South of Scotland | Anna White, ScotlandShop |
| Aberdeen & Grampian | Graham McWilliam, Glencraft (Aberdeen) Ltd |
Malcolm Cannon, National Director of the Institute of Directors in Scotland, commented:
“Edinburgh and the Lothians has a track record in producing excellent leaders, and we can see that reflected in the awards and commendations of this year’s cohort. They are united by the drive to lead a team through transformative times to create better outcomes for them, the organisation and the community they serve.
“We were overwhelmed by the number of entries this year, and our judging panel had the tough job of whittling down almost 200 entries to just 54 final contenders for our prestigious awards. Amongst our winners, we were most impressed by those who, despite their position, are not afraid to continually develop and actively encourage training to keep ideas fresh and the organisation alive.”
