Board and Governance

Group shot of the Board of Management standing in a line.

BOARD AND GOVERNANCE

The Board of Management was established under the provisions of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992. The Board is the governing body of our College, responsible for setting the institution’s strategic direction and for monitoring its performance. Along with the other Glasgow colleges they also deliver the aims and outcomes of the Regional Outcome Agreement for Glasgow.

The Board consists of a maximum of 18 Board members, including the Principal, 2 Student Members, and 2 Staff members (Teaching and Support). The remainder comprise individuals with experience in industrial, commercial, financial, educational, and other professional areas. They bring their expertise and experience on a voluntary basis.

Since August 2014, the Glasgow Colleges' Regional Board is responsible for appointing new board members to the three Glasgow College Boards, and for setting regional strategic priorities.

All Board of Management and Board Committee agendas, minutes and papers will be published and available in this section in due course.

 

Alisdair Barron MBE

Alisdair Barron MBE


Alisdair Barron is the Chair of our Board of Management. He has a wealth of experience as a human resources and industrial relations specialist in the avionics, brewing, leisure and soccer industries, civil service and NHS. He is also a director of two national youth employment and skill development charities and chair, chief executive and president of three European pediatric palliative care charities. Alisdair is the longest serving member of Scotland’s Children’s Panel and received an MBE in 2006 for his work with sick children in Romania.

 

Douglas Baillie


Douglas, the Vice Chair and Senior Independent Member of the Board, has over 30 years of experience in financial services. Before stepping back from full-time employment, he latterly served as the Head of Small Business Banking at Virgin Money during Covid-19, where he led the most complex emergency funding the banking sector has ever undertaken and was responsible for 240 staff and 200,000 business customers across the UK. Over the last 25 years, Douglas has also volunteered his time and expertise on a number of public and third-sector boards, including the Glasgow Colleges’ Regional Board, Colleges Scotland, Advice Direct Scotland and Parkhead Housing Association.

 

Paul Little

Paul Little CBE


Paul Little is the founding Principal and CEO of Scotland’s largest technical and professional skills college.  A Harvard Business School graduate and distinguished academic, Paul brings a wealth of experience in tertiary sector transformation, curriculum innovation and performance excellence.  

He has for the past 28 years successfully led and reshaped five UK colleges earning a national and international reputation as a visionary reformer, successful change agent, merger specialist and thought leader in redefining college education. He has successfully pioneered the merger of Glasgow’s specialist colleges into a world-class super college for 40,000 students.

As a qualified yacht skipper, Paul enjoys sailing. He served with HM Coastguard as a part-time search and rescue Officer for 30 years, completed several tours of duty with the US Coastguard and was decorated three times by the Queen.  

Dave Anderson


Dave has 30 years of experience in senior roles in skills, economic development, and urban regeneration in Scotland and the UK. As Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire, he led the £60 million tourism project Loch Lomond Shores and established Scotland’s first Urban Regeneration Company, Clydebank Rebuilt. While at Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothians, he played a role in developing Edinburgh’s BioQuarter and Scotland’s first Business Improvement District. As Director of City Development at City of Edinburgh Council, Dave managed 750 staff, a £79 million revenue budget, a £185 million capital program, and 6 arms-length companies. Dave now runs a consultancy company specialising in urban regeneration and has undertaken a wide range of projects for local authorities and private sector clients. He also serves on Right There's board, a charity preventing homelessness.

Nicola Cameron


Nicola is currently the Director of Property Development & Investment for the University of Glasgow where she has worked since 2014, with a remit to develop and deliver a transformational, world changing campus. Nicola has developed a wide range of skills over nearly 20 years in property and has most recently been working on the development of several strategic initiatives, which enhance the experience of all who engage with the University and the wider environment.

In her career Nicola has worked for a major European retailer, a leading Scottish commercial developer and was the Head of Estates at the National Trust for Scotland prior to joining the University.

In addition to an Honours degree in Geography, from the University of Glasgow, Nicola has postgraduate diplomas in Environmental Policy, Surveying and Change Management & Transformation from the Universities of Strathclyde, Reading and Brighton. Nicola is a chartered member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, and undertakes a non-exec role for a local afterschool care charity board.

Roddy Gillespie


Roddy, a graduate and former lecturer of one of the College’s legacy institutions, has extensive experience in education in Scotland, throughout the rest of the UK and across the world. He has worked at the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) and Cambridge International. He has also been Chair of the Joint Qualifications Council (JCQ) and a board member of an Edtech company.  Roddy, currently Chair of Standards for a college in the Northwest of England, now runs an educational consultancy company and works on projects across the UK and internationally for government agencies, publishers and education providers.

Lorna B Hamilton

Lorna B Hamilton


Lorna has recently retired from the construction industry. She graduated as a Quantity Surveyor and has worked for some of the largest building contractors in the UK and has been involved in the development and construction of some of our key infrastructure in particular within the healthcare, education and aviation sectors.

She is keen to promote the benefits of the construction industry both to society and as a career path, particularly for women. She has previously served on the Scottish Boards of the RICS and Women in Property.

Lorna has been a lifelong advocate of the Girl Guiding movement and the benefits it can bring to the development and confidence of girls and is currently the County Commissioner for Dunbartonshire supporting 2000 girls and 450 volunteers.

Paul Hillard


Paul is a management consultant specialising in governance, risk, organisational development, and strategic planning in the social housing sector. This follows a thirty year career in housing, working in a range of senior management positions.  He has an MBA from the Open University and has previously served on the boards of voluntary organisations and professional trade bodies. He has particular expertise and enthusiasm for people engagement and is a previous recipient of the Sunday Times Best Leader of a Not For Profit Organisations award.

Ewart Keep


Professor Ewart Keep is emeritus chair in Education, Training and Skills at the Department of Education, Oxford University, and a board member of the Scottish Funding Council.  He has been researching issues to do with skills and the labour market for nearly 40 years and has advised governments, government bodies, think tanks, and charities across the UK and beyond.  He has also acted as an advisor to parliamentary inquiries at Holyrood and Westminster.  He has been a member of the 4 Nations College Alliance’s independent commission on the college of the future.

Stuart Mcdowall


Stuart joined the Board of Management as the elected support staff Board member in July 2023. Stuart is the College’s Head of Innovation & STEM and over the past 15 years has held a number of roles within the Corporate Development team.

Holding an honours degree in Communication and Mass Media, Stuart is also a Chartered Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and a Fellow of the Institute of Innovation & Knowledge Exchange (IKE). As well as his role in Corporate Development, Stuart also delivers courses from the CIM and IKE, with special interest in Innovation Development, Strategic/Digital Marketing, Digital Transformation, Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Exchange.

Stuart Patrick

Stuart Patrick


Stuart Patrick is Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, committed to the business success of Chamber members and championing the economic growth of the Glasgow city region.  Stuart joined the Chamber in 2009 having previously spent 17 years at Scottish Enterprise specialising in urban economic development and the transformation of Glasgow where he led Scottish Enterprise Glasgow. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young, has an MBA from Strathclyde University and an accountancy degree from Glasgow University.  He is a member of the Glasgow Economic Leadership board, chair of the Wise Group and sits on the boards of Clyde Gateway, Scottish Opera and Glasgow Science Centre.  

Ronnie Quinn

Ronnie Quinn


Ronnie is Chief Executive of NECCUS, a membership organisation supporting and representing members through the challenge of industrial decarbonisation through Carbon Capture and Hydrogen. He has over 30 years experience in general management including experience in the renewables and electricity industries. Ronnie’s professional career began as a solicitor where he worked both in private practice and in local government. He then moved into the electricity markets’ sector where he was Managing Director of the company administering the market in Scotland. In 2009 he began work for The Crown Estate where he led the transfer of its functions in Scotland to Scottish Ministers, being Crown Estate Scotland’s first Chief Executive. More recently he has been the Interim Chief Executive for the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.

Charandeep Singh BEM


Charandeep is the Deputy Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), representing Scotland’s business community nationally and internationally. In addition to his SCC role, he also serves as an Advisor to the Principal of the University of Strathclyde, where he previously held the role of Student Union President, serves as a Lay Advisor to the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow and holds the role of voluntary Chair of national charity Sikhs in Scotland. He was named in the Queens New Years Honours List and was awarded a BEM for services to charity during Covid-19.

Leo Subido


Leo is the current Student President of the City of Glasgow College Students’ Association and was formerly the Vice President of Diversity and Wellbeing.  Before their current role, Leo studied HND in Graphic Design and previously studied CertHE in architecture. 

Audrey Sullivan


Audrey has extensive experience in career and employability development. This has included 17 years as Deputy Director and then Head of the award-winning University of Strathclyde Careers Service, where she ensured that services to students constantly developed to meet changing employer needs and recruitment methods. At Glasgow Caledonian University Audrey was responsible for the design and implementation of the institution-wide Employability Strategy, aligned to the Student Experience Strategy and Learning and Teaching Strategy.

As an active member of her professional body, Audrey contributed to many UK and Scottish Government consultations and publications and to employer and labour market fora. She led a significant development to join up all Scottish HE graduate vacancy systems, resulting in a massive increase in access to vacancies for final year students and new graduates.

On retiring - early - Audrey was presented with the ‘Significant Influence on the UK HE Careers Profession’ award.

Josh McClellan

Josh Taylor


Josh studies BA Television at City of Glasgow College, after completing his HND in Media and Communications last year.  He is the Student Association's Vice President for Learning and Teaching and is now in his second term. Before returning to education and joining the College, Josh had a background in hospitality management for several years.