Caroline Mansley, Celia Tennant and Jason McGibbon join the ESF board to help shape the future of entrepreneurship and leadership in Scotland.
Three industry experts are set to join the Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation (ESF) Board this summer.
From left to right, Caroline Mansley, Celia Tennant and Jason McGibbon.
Non-Executive Director of Scottish Golf, Caroline Mansley, CEO of Inspiring Scotland, Celia Tennant, and Jason McGibbon, Non-Executive Director of Scottish National Investment Bank join the ESF Board as Trustees to help drive the organisation forward in its mission to make Scotland the most entrepreneurial society in the world.
The key appointments will join a diverse board which already includes senior academic and business leaders including Colin Robertson CBE, Mark Bamforth (Thairm Bio) and Richard Williams OBE (Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Heriot-Watt University). Collectively, they will provide new areas of expertise to not only grow ESF’s existing leadership development programmes but also create a wider impact on Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem in alignment with Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation.
Speaking of the appointments, CEO of Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation, Sean McGrath said:
“The appointment of Caroline, Celia and Jason is an exciting milestone in our growth. Bringing their skills and international connections to bear along with the rest of our board can help us find, grow and connect even more transformational leaders in Scotland.”
Chairman of the ESF board, Colin Robertson CBE said:
“Having a range of expert voices in place will be essential in supporting ESF to grow the entrepreneurial talent that Scotland needs to prosper. I’m delighted to welcome Celia, Caroline and Jason to our board.”
Non-Executive Director, Scottish Golf
Prior to sitting on the board of Scottish Golf, Caroline Mansley was Chair of Netball Scotland and the Strathclyde Sirens. In addition to being an Independent Advisor, supporting Senior Executives to design, and execute strategic change, Caroline has over 30 years of experience in delivering international business transformation and has managed global Operations and IT functions across companies including AIG, Cap Gemini, RBS, Lloyds Banking Group, BT, and Criterion.
Caroline said: “I am delighted to join the team at Entrepreneurial Scotland, and support the Executive Board to continue uplifting entrepreneurship and shape the future talent pool for Scotland and beyond.”
CEO, Inspiring Scotland
Inspiring Scotland’s CEO, Celia Tennant has worked with the organisation since its conception in 2008, previously employed as Head of Funds. Celia is passionate about building a better Scotland and brings 20 years of management experience from the private sector and is driven to showcase the potential of people and communities to create lasting positive change.
Celia said: “Entrepreneurial Scotland does a fantastic job of unlocking the potential of young people and leaders from across Scotland. I’m excited to work alongside Sean and the Board to drive further change to help shape entrepreneurial thinking and leadership within Scotland.”
Non-Executive Director, Scottish National Investment Bank
Jason McGibbon qualified as a chartered accountant in Scotland prior to an international investment career, spending over two decades with the global investment firm Bridgepoint. He now sits on the board of Scottish National Investment Bank as well as a range of Chair/ NED roles with several consumer-tech and data-related scale-ups. At the mission-led development bank, he helped support the executive team through the launch phase of the bank and sits on their investment, valuation and audit committees. Jason’s key expertise lies in Business Strategy, Scale-up, fundraising, international growth and business transformation.
Jason said: “I’ve been a keen supporter of the [Entrepreneurial Scotland] foundation for many years, in particular, via their flagship Saltire Scholarship programme. Maximising Scotland’s entrepreneurial potential and developing high-performing networks to better support business scale-ups in this country has never been more important, so I’m delighted to be asked to join the Board to help maintain the impressive momentum ESF is building under Sean’s leadership.”
