Kimberley Guthrie
Chief Officer
Kimberley has over 25 years experience in senior management roles across the retail and business sector in a variety of small, medium and large organisations. Company director and founder of her own business of 17 years, she delivers a consultancy service bringing a wealth of experience in marketing and consumer strategy, retailing expertise and business transformation to SME’s across the UK. A true advocate of independent business, she ran a highly successful online and store based childrenswear boutique for 17 years, underpinned by a consumer centric digital strategy. Kimberley’s role with Scotland’s Towns Partnership is to drive transformative change for our towns through collaboration and partnership with all stakeholders across all sectors.
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, she has a solid foundation in all aspects of multi-channel marketing, brand management and entrepreneurship. She is also an active and experienced mentor developing leaders bringing out the best in people and enabling confidence and continuous improvement in both business and personal growth.
An ardent supporter of the third and charitable sector, Kimberley held a 2 year appointment as chair of the fundraising board at Maggie’s FV which involved a successful tenure in increasing brand awareness, supporting and influencing the fundraising team in exceeding annual income.
Professor Leigh Sparks
Chair
Professor Leigh Sparks is Professor of Retail Studies at the University of Stirling. He was Deputy Principal at the University for 8 years until 2024. He was a geography undergraduate at the University of Cambridge and completed his Ph.D. (on retail employment) at the University of Wales. Leigh is Board Chair of Scotland’s Towns Partnership (2013-date), was a member of the External Advisory Group on the Scottish Government’s National Town Centre Review (2012-2013) and on the Expert Advisory Group advising the Scottish Government on the lessons to be learned from the Horsemeat Scandal (2013).
During 2020, Leigh was a member of the Scottish Government’s Social Renewal Advisory Board, the report from which (If Not Now When?) was published in January 2021, and Chaired the review of the Town Centre Action Plan for the Scottish Government, the report from which (A New Future for Scotland’s Towns) was published in February 2021. He was a member of the Scottish Government’s Ministerial Retail Strategy Group, which wrote the Retail Strategy for Scotland, published in March 2022.
Leigh is a Churchill Fellow, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, runs a blog on retail matters (stirlingretail.com) and is Board Chair of Made in Stirling CIC.
Mhairi Donaghy
Vice Chair
Mhairi Donaghy is Associate Director at Scottish Futures Trust, working in the Place, Housing and Economic Investment team. She has considerable experience of towns and town centre research, having supported a wide range of projects over the past thirty years including place audits, strategy and action plan development, project appraisals and funding applications.
Mhairi has a very strong interest in towns as a service user and shopper, as a visitor, and as an economic research practitioner. She worked with her local Business Association over many years, latterly helping the group to secure a successful ballot and establish the ‘My Shawlands’ Business Improvement District (BID).
Towns are essential in bring together the facilities and services that people want to use in accessible places that people can get to – this helps to promote variety and encourage innovation. Successful towns have a distinctive offer, are vibrant places, and encourage people to visit through activities, events and marketing efforts, helping to sustain business performance and local jobs, and strengthen community ties. Where they have a clear purpose and can harness opportunities, all towns have the potential to build a successful future.
Tom Sneddon
Treasurer
Tom is currently treasurer to Scotland’s Towns Partnership.
“As an architect in private practice and as a Director of the Development Trusts Association Scotland [DTAS] I represent both the active practitioner and the can-do community-led ethos of DTAS on the board of STP.
I’m interested in towns because like almost 70% of our population, I live in one. Towns also provide 2/3 of our jobs and businesses and should be the powerhouse of our economy. Our towns are the barometer of the nation’s economic health and social wellbeing.
Getting our towns and town centres right is important not only for that particular place but also for a socially inclusive and vibrant national economy. Therefore, towns matter – they matter a lot.
Towns form an important and integral part of Scotland’s landscape. Big towns, small towns, beautiful towns, unremarkable towns, seaside towns – the list goes on. They provide a broad diversity in terms of size, scale, location, landscape setting and character including layout and building fabric. Towns are the lifeblood and sole economic drivers to many rural areas and are essential components to the hinterland of our 7 cities.
There is a great deal of pride in Scotland’s towns, which offer a way of life at a scale, which is often rich in identity and social interaction with a deep local sense of place. The opportunity exists to harness this local pride, knowledge and enthusiasm to improve the overall social, economic and physical environments within these places”.
David Jackson
Board Member
David is Regional Director at VisitScotland, where he leads the national tourism organisation’s engagement across the North-east region, supporting the work of destination organisations, industry groups and public sector partners in the delivery of local priorities, destination plans and investments. The role forms part of VisitScotland’s Destination Development Team, which takes a strategic, place-based approach to maximising the contribution tourism can make to strong and sustainable regional economies.
Having spent more than 20 years working in and leading destination management and marketing organisations across the UK – including in town-based settings and alongside Business Improvement Districts – I am a strong believer in the critical role that towns play in bringing people and
communities together, supporting local economies and creating opportunities that are accessible and inclusive.
Scotland’s towns are an essential part of Scottish tourism. They are home to world-leading visitor experiences, vibrant events and festivals and a rich and often distinct cultural heritage. Their stories, character and sense of place not only attract visitors but also contribute to the pride and identity of the communities who live there.
Adrian Watson
Board Member
Adrian is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aberdeen Inspired, the city centre business improvement district (BID) that represents the interest of some 700 levy paying businesses. He has been in post since July 2016.
The BID delivers on a wide range of initiatives and strategies including the globally acclaimed Nuart (Aberdeen) International Street Art Festival, Aberdeen Restaurant Week and introduced the first city centre evening & night-time economy strategy of its kind outside of London. It also manages the Aberdeen Gift Card, as part of the ‘Scotland Loves Local’ strategy and was recently recognised as being the best-selling card of its kind across the UK & Ireland for 2023/24.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University and also the National Chair for Scotland of the Association of Town & City Management (ATCM).
Adrian holds a BSc (Hons), MSc and an MBA from Aberdeen Business School, Robert Gordon University.
Hilary Kidd
Board Member
Hilary Kidd is Smart Services Director at Young Scot, leading on the strategic development and implementation of Young Scot’s smart-service programmes including the Young Scot National Entitlement Card, digital assurance and the Proof of Age Standard Scheme (PASS), membership services and local authority partnerships.
Having grown up in towns across Scotland and now living in Motherwell, Hilary strongly believes that young people should have more opportunities to participate effectively in the future planning of their town centres. With a particular interest in tackling inequalities, Hilary wants to ensure that we are connecting young people to the heart of town centre regeneration policy.
A qualified Solicitor, Hilary has spent the majority of her career in the third sector and is a former Board member of the Scottish Youth Parliament and YouthLink Scotland.
Alison Turnbull
Board Member
I am Director of Development and Partnership at Historic Environment Scotland. My role covers a wide range of areas including community engagement, strategic partnerships, research, policy, strategy implementation, international working, equalities and fundraising.
I created a new Directorate with a fresh approach in HES. I led the process to develop Heritage for All, HES’s corporate plan using service design methods and engaging seldom heard voices. The style of working can be characterised as innovative, collaborative and facilitative. The Directorate works across HES and with external bodies to draw in best practice and ensure efficiency of delivery.
Fergus Murray
Board Member
Fergus is a chartered town planner and member of SLAED. Currently Head of Development and Economic Growth with Argyll and Bute Council he has a responsibility for a range of council services including planning, regulatory services, housing, economic growth and area regeneration.
Fergus has worked in Glasgow and Shetland prior to coming to Argyll and has throughout his career been involved in area regeneration projects including the regeneration of the Broomielaw and Merchant City areas, the regeneration of Lerwick Waterfront and Town Centre and latterly Argyll and Bute’s CHORD project that helped regenerate the town centres of five main towns.
Fergus has a particular interest in the viability of small rural towns and how they support the wider rural economy. He strongly believes in encouraging new business in our town centres and providing local people with the right skills to take best advantage of the places where they live.
Suzanne Hamilton
Board Member
Suzanne is a director and owner of Frontline, a management consultancy headquartered in Lanarkshire. She has led Frontline’s evaluation team for over 20 years working with economic development agencies throughout Scotland. She brings extensive board experience having been on the EDAS Board for 11 years including vice chair of membership and CPD.
Suzanne leads programme performance reviews, appraisals and evaluations across a range of sectors including tourism and food and drink; both are important to town economies. For BIDs, she led workshops to help them measure impact with a view to increasing membership and funding.
Towns and town centres are important for the economy; they act as catalysts to bring people and cultures together. They are steeped in history which act as levers to support vibrant visitor economies.
Marcus Chidgey
Board Member
Marcus Chidgey is the CEO at Loqiva , a technology company which provides software to BIDs and local councils in Scotland and further afield.
Marcus is passionate about place, and in particular how technology can be used to improve the lives of local people. He has pioneered the concept of ‘digital town hubs’
where residents, businesses and third-sector organisations share a dedicated technology platform that aims to create stronger, more connected communities.
Prior to Loqiva, Marcus was the CEO of an award-winning media and technology company that worked with well-known brands, broadcasters and government.
Marcus currently sits on the board of a New York based NGO dedicated to supporting the United Nation’s SDGs.
Previously he chaired a military charity concerned with mental health support and resettlement back into civilian life.
Marcus lives with his family in the Western Isles and has a keen interest in island communities and local economies.
Chris Bateman
Board Member
Chris has extensive experience in strategic planning and regeneration roles in local government and is currently the Greenock Town Fund Manager at Inverclyde Council, leading on the development and delivery of an ambitious Regeneration Plan for Greenock which focuses on town centre regeneration, supporting localism and establishing Greenock as a vibrant visitor destination. Chris’s previous experience includes developing a wide range of regeneration projects, including culture, heritage, infrastructure and town centre living and managing asset management, economic regeneration and housing strategies.
Chris has a particular interest in urban towns, which are places where most of us grow up and grow old in and which now must be reimagined if they are to meet people and businesses’ needs and aspirations. He believes that there is a direct relationship between the quality, attractiveness and accessibility of towns and the success of local economies and the nation’s health and wellbeing.
Jamie Mackie
Board Member
Jamie assists with the running of the Public Affairs Department for the Scottish Grocers’ Federation. Developing policy and implementing the Public Affairs Plan for the organisation. He engages with Ministers, officials, MSPs and a range of stakeholders on key topics for the Scottish Convenience Retail sector and leads on both public and members’ communications for SGF.
His background includes twelve years’ experience working for MPs and MSPs with a keen focus on supporting their communities and helping local initiatives thrive. Alongside understanding the pressures and opportunities that many Scottish towns have to balance.
As a public affairs representative for local shops, many of whom operate small lifeline businesses at the heart of their communities, that work has continued. Illustrating the importance of vibrant town centres for both the people who live and work in them and for the success of Scotland, the move toward sustainable living, and the economy as a whole.