Governance

Born in the village of St Monans in the East Neuk of Fife I have lived and worked all my life in the East Neuk, later moving few miles along the coast to Cornceres near Anstruther. We farm Cornceres with 200ha of combinable crops and my family also run Silverdyke Park, a diversification project, which has 120 static holiday homes and 31 tourer spaces.

I studied at the East of Scotland College of Agriculture leaving with an HND in Agriculture in 1979. I was a keen member of the young farmers movement working my way up through club and regional hierarchies to become national Chairman of SAYFC in 1989. More recently I rejoined the board of SAYFC becoming Hon President in 2018.

I have held positions in many different agricultural bodies, including board positions in NFUS and QMS. I served on the board of SAOS for 14 years becoming Chair in 2012 and am currently Chair of Tayforth Machinery Ring.

My family and I live in a vibrant tourism focussed area and I have enjoyed being involved in various bodies within the community. I have been chairing our local tourism association and am currently Chair of the local community council and a member of the East Neuk Emergency Planning Team.
I was appointed an Associate of the Fellowship of Royal Agricultural Societies in 2017.

After studying at SAC, Craibstone in 2002, I continued my agriculture education at California State University in Fresno before I began my, what ended up being 14 years of high school agriculture teaching in Bakersfield California. While teaching inner-city students about food production, I saw the progamme grow from 120 students to more than 500 learning agriculture on a daily basis. Due to the continual growth and strength of the programme, I was recognised in the community and throughout the state for the impact we were making. After earning the Masters of Science in Agriculture Education at California Polytechnic University, I took up the role as agriculture lecturer at SRUC in Edinburgh and now lead the Agriculture programme as the Programme Team Leader.

I am a former student of SRUC. My core business is progressive mixed farming and contract farming, based in Fife. We supply beef, cereals and potatoes to well-known quality brands in the food and drink sector.

I sit on a Machinery Ring co-operative board covering the central belt, a sector board for AHDB covering the whole of the UK, and am Chair of the local NFU branch. In addition, I am a member of AHDB’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee.

I am committed to balancing livestock and crop husbandry with protection and enrichment of the local environment in order to ensure a long-term, sustainable future in agriculture and I have received awards for agricultural practices in my business.

Fiona has held senior positions in the public and private sectors in Scotland and, most recently, in the university sector as Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary at the University of the Highlands and Islands. A chartered accountant by background, she has gained experience across a wide variety of industry sectors with national and international clients through her work.

In 1991 she was appointed Chief Executive of  Inverness and Nairn Enterprise and in that role, recognising the economic potential for the community, she was influential in the successful formation and admission to the Scottish League of  Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club. For the next 10 years she held senior management positions in business process outsourcing with Cap Gemini and Vertex Data Science Ltd. She played a formative role in the creation of the University of the Highlands and Islands as Chief Operating Officer and Secretary and was awarded the MBE in 2017 for services to higher education in Scotland. In addition to her executive roles, Fiona has volunteered in a non-executive capacity on the boards of charities and business organisations. She is currently a member of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland, a director of the Robertson Trust, Scotland’s largest independent grant-making trust, a director of the Port of Cromarty Firth, a director of Highland Tourism Community Interest Company and chair of Prosper’s (formerly SCDI) Highlands and Islands committee. Fiona chairs the audit committees of the Robertson Trust, the Law Society of Scotland and the Port of Cromarty Firth.

Joining the Board in June 2025, I bring a background in economic development, regeneration, heritage, and the built environment, with experience across local government, consultancy, and the rural and environmental sectors. I currently lead economic development at East Lothian Council and have played a key role in shaping local, regional and, national policy on inclusive growth, community wealth building, and tourism. I'm a Fellow or the Institute of Place Management and serve on the board of Scotland’s Regeneration Forum - the SURF network is the primary arena for debate on community regeneration in Scotland. 

At SRUC, I serve on both the Remuneration & Appointments and Strategy Committees. My focus is on strengthening the institution’s strategic alignment with national priorities around green skills, rural innovation, place-based regeneration, and Community Wealth Building. I’m particularly committed to SRUC’s role in supporting thriving rural communities and helping shape a just transition to a net zero economy.

I am a non-executive staff representative on the board.

I have been with SRUC since 2004 where I started as a database programmer for EGENES (Edinburgh GENetic Evaluation Services) and stayed in that role for six years.

I then moved to the Information and Digital Services team where I was mostly involved with small IT projects and managing the corporate SharePoint environment.

Managing SharePoint resulted in me liaising with SRUC’s academic, professional services, and commercial colleagues on a regular basis. Over the years, this allowed me to build strong internal relationships throughout the business.

My current role as IT Business Partner for Academic staff was a natural progression that has allowed me to build further on the relationships that I have established over the years. As a business partner I am often the first point of contact for academic colleagues that require assistance with technology projects.

I hope the knowledge I have gained over my years within SRUC will enable me to contribute positively to board meetings in what is a very exciting and interesting time for SRUC.

Katrina is Global Head of Sustainable Land Use & Supply Chains at HSBC in the Group Sustainability Centre of Excellence. She is working to develop the company’s net-zero business plan and supporting the bank and its customers globally, in land-based industries and across supply chains, transition to a low carbon future. Previously she was at UKRI’s Innovate UK, where she held a number senior roles including Executive Director for Healthy Living and Agriculture, strongly connected with the top leaders in health, food and agriculture sectors, ministers, and other key decisions makers. She was also accountable for significant funding programmes including the Defra Farming Innovation Programme and the Transforming Food Production challenge. Katrina has worked for different organisations across the Agri-tech sector including FERA Science, DuPont Pioneer, and the World Economic Forum. Throughout her career, she has worked on the commercialisation of technology innovation both from a public and government perspective. Katrina has a PhD in Biosciences, an MSc in Ecology and a BSc in Plant Sciences.

I joined the board in 2019 as the EIS Union representative.

I joined SRUC in 2013 as a lecturer in Animal Science at the Ayr campus after a brief partnership with SAC during my PhD. Originally, I studied Zoology, but agriculture was my true passion and, whilst finishing my PhD examining the energetic budgets of broiler chickens at Aberdeen University and Auchincruive, I decided that the post of lecturer was too good to pass by.

I am proud to be a ‘Jack of all trades’ when it comes to my job; to date I have taught over 20 different modules (from 1st year Chemistry to Msc Statistics). I am/was module leader for 14, and teach every degree program that comes through SRUC (no one can escape statistics!).

In 2019 I assisted in the writing and validation of the ‘Sustainable Food Production and Land Use degree’ and hope to see this flourish.

I have had a career in Higher Education as a research scientist, serving as a panel member for two rounds of the Research Assessment Exercise, and as Deputy and Pro Vice-Chancellor for research and enterprise. I have also held senior executive roles as a Registered Clinical Scientist in the NHS.

I have been committed to the role that the Higher Education and tertiary sectors can play in economic and social transformation and has established many partnerships with the commercial sector. I have formed many spin-out companies and advises internationally on the commercialisation of innovations.

I have wide experience as a Chair, Non-Exec Director, Governor, and Trustee of very large organisations, as well as emerging SMEs and micro companies. My experience and analytical skills have enabled me to work effectively in a number of sectors, including bioscience, nanotechnology, engineering, manufacturing, digital, informatics, and the arts sector. 

Born in Glasgow. Educated at Kelvinside Academy.  Qualified as a Veterinary Surgeon from Royal Dick Vet School Edinburgh 1985. Spent 19 years in general practice initially as an assistant then partner in a hospital based mixed practice in Aberdeenshire. After 2 years running a sports business joined Novartis Animal Health as a professional services vet covering small animal practices across Scotland, Northern England, and Ireland.

Moved internally to the Novartis Aquaculture team initially as technical support for Scotland and the Faroe Island before taking a commercial head role for these areas. Moved in 2012 to a role as European Manager of the Aquaculture business for Novartis based in Bergen, Norway. Continued the role after Elanco acquired Novartis Animal Health in 2015.

In 2017 took a couple of years out to manage an Aberdeen based charity  farm that provided adults with learning difficulties farm based practical training along with providing a visitor attraction as a Social Enterprise Development.

In 2019 returned to the Aquaculture animal health industry with Benchmark Animal Health to manage the CleanTreat project before accepting role of Head of Operations managing a team of over 50 personnel and continued this role until retiring in January 2025.

I am currently the Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Dumfriesshire Constituency and was first elected in 2016. I have announced that I am standing down at the next election in May 2026 and want to use my skills and experience from the past decade to support the important work of the SRUC. 

I take a keen interest in rural and education policy and have been a past member of the Scottish Parliament’s Rural and Education Committees and have served as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and for Rural Affairs and Tourism. 

Prior to my election, I worked as a parliamentary researcher in the House of Commons following a brief period working as part of the legal team at Shell Chemicals after leaving university. 

I grew up in Moffat, where I attended Moffat Academy before going on to graduate with first-class honours in Law from the University of Edinburgh. 

I retired as Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee after ten years in the role at the end of 2018. I currently serve in a range of non-executive roles as President and Chair of the Council of Trustees, the Biochemical Society; Chair of the Board of Trustees at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh; Chair of the Board of Directors, Platinum Informatics Ltd. and as a member of the Board of Scotland’s Rural College.

Under my leadership the University of Dundee was consistently rated best in Scotland for student experience by Times Higher Education and achieved record levels of research funding. I led the development of the University’s Transformation agenda, with the goal of becoming Scotland’s leading University, helping transform lives locally, nationally and globally and delivering economic, social and cultural impact.

I was Convener of Universities Scotland from August 2012 to July 2016, having previously served as Convener of its Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee. I have been a leading voice in championing the strengths an autonomous and diverse university sector can offer Scotland, and particularly the role universities can play in driving innovation and economic growth. I was a founding member of the Board of Design Dundee Ltd. which delivered the V&A Museum of Design to Dundee.

I am one of the UK’s leading biochemists. I spent eleven years in the pharmaceutical industry before joining the University in 1989. Before his appointment as Principal I served as Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Life Sciences. I played a key role in establishing Dundee as a global leader in life sciences, making a significant impact on both the Scottish economy and our understanding and treatment of major diseases including diabetes and cancer.

I was a co-founder of the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy (DSTT) at Dundee, a partnership between the University and several of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. The DSTT was founded in 1998 and has attracted over £60 million of inward investment to the city. It is widely regarded as a model for how universities and industry can interact productively and was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education in 2005.

I was awarded the Colworth Medal of the British Biochemical Society in 1987 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1991 and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2009. I was honoured by The Queen with an OBE in 2004 and a Knighthood in 2015.

I was appointed to the Board of SRUC in June 2025 and am a member of the Finance and Estates Committee.

I am a Chartered Accountant and was a partner with Scott-Moncrieff, Chartered Accountants, leading their outsourced internal audit and risk consulting services for many years working with Boards and Audit Committees for a wide range of organisations across the Scottish public sector, and several of Scotland leading listed companies and charities.  During this time, I led the internal audit service for a number of FE and HE organisations including Elmwood College and Heriot Watt University.

From 2008 to 2012 I was Chief Internal Auditor at AEGON UK and part of the global internal audit leadership team, and for 6 years from 2012 I was Director of Compliance and Group Risk at McInroy & Wood (investment managers).

Since 2018 I have held a number of non-executive director roles.  I am currently on the Board of Revenue Scotland and chair the Audit and Risk Committee.  I have also served as a member of the Board of Ferguson Marine, chairing their Audit and Risk Committee, and as a co-opted member of the Audit and Risk Committee for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

In addition, I am trustee director for The Abernethy Trust and chair the Investment Committee and Pension Scheme Trustees board for the Free Church of Scotland.

As a farmer’s son, my formative years were spent learning about and enjoying Scotland’s rural landscape, which I continue to enjoy on my horse and with our two border collies.

As a mature student who returned to education at Elmwood for a career change, I previously had 17 years’ experience working for an International Research Organisation managing data collection as a Project Team Lead and Senior Project Supervisor. I helped set up the Remote Call Centre and supported integrating at-home workers including inductions, training, support and supervision. Stakeholder research, political tracking surveys, longitudinal studies and government research were some of my specialisms. I worked on many consultations, staff surveys/engagement on organisational change and various land-based/agricultural studies – including for DEFRA, Natural England, The Environment Agency, SEPA etc.

I also worked for the Edinburgh International Science Festival as a Team Leader and Science Communicator doing workshops and outreach work in schools, museums and events. Careers Hive was a highlight – getting school groups to engage with industry volunteers and get hands-on experience with science/tech gadgets to encourage more uptake in STEM subjects and raise the profile of apprenticeship training as a route in to STEM careers.

I have a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Management through the Open University and also studied at Edinburgh University and the Open University to complete my Open Science Degree (mostly Geoscience and sustainability subjects).

In my free time, I’ve volunteered with a local heritage charity, been a Tree Warden with the Tree Council in Fife and helped several organic farms and community garden & food projects.

I am Co-President for Advocacy & Engagement at SRUCSA and sit on the SRUC Board to represent the student voice across all campuses. I studied Wildlife and Conservation Management (BSc Hons) and have extensive practical experience in upland habitat work and land management in Scotland.

My focus is on ensuring students are included in decisions that affect them, improving equity across campuses, and strengthening links between education, communities, and industry. I aim to bring a practical understanding of land-based industries alongside a commitment to fair and transparent governance.

I am a former student of SRUC. My core business is progressive mixed farming and contract farming, based in Fife. We supply beef, cereals and potatoes to well-known quality brands in the food and drink sector.

I sit on a Machinery Ring co-operative board covering the central belt, a sector board for AHDB covering the whole of the UK, and am Chair of the local NFU branch. In addition, I am a member of AHDB’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee.

I am committed to balancing livestock and crop husbandry with protection and enrichment of the local environment in order to ensure a long-term, sustainable future in agriculture and I have received awards for agricultural practices in my business.

Katrina is Global Head of Sustainable Land Use & Supply Chains at HSBC in the Group Sustainability Centre of Excellence. She is working to develop the company’s net-zero business plan and supporting the bank and its customers globally, in land-based industries and across supply chains, transition to a low carbon future. Previously she was at UKRI’s Innovate UK, where she held a number senior roles including Executive Director for Healthy Living and Agriculture, strongly connected with the top leaders in health, food and agriculture sectors, ministers, and other key decisions makers. She was also accountable for significant funding programmes including the Defra Farming Innovation Programme and the Transforming Food Production challenge. Katrina has worked for different organisations across the Agri-tech sector including FERA Science, DuPont Pioneer, and the World Economic Forum. Throughout her career, she has worked on the commercialisation of technology innovation both from a public and government perspective. Katrina has a PhD in Biosciences, an MSc in Ecology and a BSc in Plant Sciences.

I graduated from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with BSc (Hons) in Agricultural Biochemistry and Nutrition in 1981. I went onto do a PhD on Microbial metabolism of lactic acid in the rumen at the Hannah Research Institute in Scotland.

Prior to joining SRUC I was Professor of Animal Science and Director of Research and Enterprise at the Institute of Biological and Rural Sciences, Aberyswyth University, Wales.  Prior to joining the Aberystwyth University in 2003, I was based at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen for 16 years.

My research interests have focused on the understanding and manipulation of gut ecosystems to improve animal productivity while reducing the environmental impact of animal husbandry, I have published over 230 papers, which are consistently well cited, with an H-index of 54. I have filed eight patents, four of which are currently licensed to commercial partners for further development and exploitation.

I am a past president of the British Society of Animal Science and past Editor in Chief of PNS for the Nutrition Society. I am a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and an Associate of the Royal Agricultural Society recognising both the international standing and impact of my research work. 

I am convinced of the advantages of linking teaching, research and knowledge transfer within the academic portfolio. I believe that research carried out at SRUC should be a major driver of economic progression within Scotland and beyond.

Born in the village of St Monans in the East Neuk of Fife I have lived and worked all my life in the East Neuk, later moving few miles along the coast to Cornceres near Anstruther. We farm Cornceres with 200ha of combinable crops and my family also run Silverdyke Park, a diversification project, which has 120 static holiday homes and 31 tourer spaces.

I studied at the East of Scotland College of Agriculture leaving with an HND in Agriculture in 1979. I was a keen member of the young farmers movement working my way up through club and regional hierarchies to become national Chairman of SAYFC in 1989. More recently I rejoined the board of SAYFC becoming Hon President in 2018.

I have held positions in many different agricultural bodies, including board positions in NFUS and QMS. I served on the board of SAOS for 14 years becoming Chair in 2012 and am currently Chair of Tayforth Machinery Ring.

My family and I live in a vibrant tourism focussed area and I have enjoyed being involved in various bodies within the community. I have been chairing our local tourism association and am currently Chair of the local community council and a member of the East Neuk Emergency Planning Team.
I was appointed an Associate of the Fellowship of Royal Agricultural Societies in 2017.

I have shown a lifelong commitment to the application of cutting-edge science to deliver practical benefits for agriculture and the rural economies of the developed and developing world.

My personal research interests revolve around plant genetics, genome science, plant breeding and conservation of genetic resources with a strong emphasis on the delivery of ‘public good’ outcomes. I have published extensively and have a broad national and international network of collaborators and contacts.

My leadership experience spans the public, private and university sectors, with a strong international focus. I am a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (LSW) and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE).

Before joining SRUC, I was Chief Science Officer at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). CGIAR is the world’s premier global agri-food partnership, dedicated to help achieve the sustainable development agenda of healthy diets from sustainable food systems for all. 

Prior to this I was Professor and founding Director of the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University. Here I led the merger of the Institutes of Biological and Rural Sciences of the University with the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council's (BBSRC) Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) to form one of the largest groups of academics and support staff in the UK focussing on plant, environment and land-based sciences.

I am a senior Fulbright Scholar and have worked for the DuPont Company in Wilmington, USA, where I gained exposure and experience of operating in a global private sector organisation.

My current external roles include membership of the Science Advisory Council of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC) and Convenor of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee (RKEC) of Universities Scotland.

I have had a career in Higher Education as a research scientist, serving as a panel member for two rounds of the Research Assessment Exercise, and as Deputy and Pro Vice-Chancellor for research and enterprise. I have also held senior executive roles as a Registered Clinical Scientist in the NHS.

I have been committed to the role that the Higher Education and tertiary sectors can play in economic and social transformation and has established many partnerships with the commercial sector. I have formed many spin-out companies and advises internationally on the commercialisation of innovations.

I have wide experience as a Chair, Non-Exec Director, Governor, and Trustee of very large organisations, as well as emerging SMEs and micro companies. My experience and analytical skills have enabled me to work effectively in a number of sectors, including bioscience, nanotechnology, engineering, manufacturing, digital, informatics, and the arts sector. 

I lead on skills and lifelong learning at SRUC, working across education, consultancy and research and delivering excellent work-based learning pathways from senior school through to PhD level.

I work closely with sector partners to make sure SRUC delivers industry responsive, research informed courses which can improve business productivity and sustainability. I lead SRUC teams to deliver flexible accessible education and skills development – for example - developing bespoke courses and new apprenticeships to address a skills shortage or creating accredited short courses which can be ‘stacked’ to build, for example, a postgraduate diploma.

I integrate meta-skills development into education: this means SRUC learners can develop their knowledge and technical skills and – importantly - also the wider transferable skills and attributes such as self-management, social intelligence and innovation which are key for effective workplace performance.

Before joining SRUC I led the rural skills department at Borders College – developing a high performing team, growing student numbers and building strong sector partnerships.

I am a veterinary surgeon and worked as a director in rural mixed practices in Devon and Cornwall for many years - building strong businesses focussed on people and community and delivering clinical veterinary services and training to clients and veterinary teams. On leaving my practice-based role I joined government veterinary services, focussing on animal welfare and disease control work and working alongside the UK Chief Veterinary Officer during EU Exit.

My veterinary experience and networks support SRUC in building resilience for the future through delivering the veterinary skills and education required to support the vet-led team.

In my spare time I enjoy horse riding, helping neighbours in the Scottish Borders at calving and lambing time, and spending holidays sailing from the Clyde with my family, venturing as far afield as the Outer Hebrides and Northern Ireland in recent summers.

• Schedule of Matters Reserved to the Board
• Scheme of Delegation
• Statement of Primary Responsibilities
• SRUC Governance Effectiveness Review
• Scottish Statutory Instrument (Standing Order), allowing transfer of Barony, Elmwood and Oatridge to SAC who are granted a name change to SRUC

• Articles of Association 2024
• SRUC Innovation Ltd. Articles of Association 2024

The open minutes from the SRUC Board meetings can be found via the links below:

• September 2025 SRUC Board minutes
• June 2025 SRUC Board minutes
• March 2025 SRUC Board minutes
• 2024 SRUC Board minutes
• 2023 SRUC Board minutes
• 2022 SRUC Board minutes
• 2021 SRUC Board minutes
• 2020 SRUC Board minutes
• 2019 SRUC Board minutes
• 2018 SRUC Board minutes
• 2017 SRUC Board minutes

• SRUC Board
• SRUC Innovation
• Executive Leadership Team