2011 Keynote Speakers

Amanda Boyle

Amanda describes her career as an “entrepreneurial adventure“.   After a few years spent in marketing and communications with large, corporate organisations – more often than not starting things up or closing things down – in 1992, she set up her first business, while working full-time.  She earned her MBA in 1994 from the University of Dundee; and in 1997 co-founded Caledonia Contracts, a leading UK fit-out contractor with revenues in excess of £4million.  Her business career has been recognised by a number of awards:

Most Promising Newcomer (2000) and finalist in CBI Growing business Awards - Innovative Company of the Year (2002)
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Finalist 2002 & 2003
Association of Scottish Businesswomen - Outstanding Contribution to Business 2003
Association of Scottish Businesswomen - Woman of Achievement 2005
IoD Non Executive Director of the Year and Female Director of the Year 2006

Never afraid of a challenge or slow to test conventions, Amanda’s track record speaks for itself: as the co-founder of one of the UK’s most profitable shop-fitting contractors; one of only two female CEOs in that industry; the chairman of a Local Enterprise Company, the first and only woman to hold the post; and the founding Chairman of Women Ahead, a local businesswomen’s network, which has now been operating for a decade.

Lesley Knox

Lesley Knox joined the board of Alliance Trust in 2001 and was appointed Chairman in 2004. Lesley graduated with an MA in Law from Cambridge, qualified as a lawyer and worked in the UK and US. Subsequently, she worked as a corporate finance adviser, first with Kleinwort Benson, where in 1996 she became a group director. She was also head of the company’s institutional asset management operation, providing investment services to clients worldwide.

She has recently become the chairman of Dundee Design Limited (DDL), which aims to build a new centre in Dundee to provide a showcase for the best in international design.  DDL works in partnership with the Council, the University of Dundee, Abertay University, Scottish Enterprise and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Lesley is also a director of Hays Plc and the Grosvenor Group Limited, which recently appointed her as its non-executive chairman.  In addition, she is the chairman of the Investment Advisory Board (IAB) with Turcan Connell and was a member of the Steering Group for the Independent Review being carried by George Reid of the National Trust for Scotland.

Lady Susan Rice CBE

Lady Rice, a chartered banker, is managing director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland.  She was previously chairman and chief executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland, the first woman to head a UK clearing bank.

In her earlier career, Susan worked at NatWest Bancorp in New York and, before that, she was a dean at both Yale and Colgate universities in America.  She is senior independent director of Scottish and Southern Energy and sits on the Court of the Bank of England, where she chairs the Audit and Risk Committee. She also chairs the Edinburgh International Book Festival and Edinburgh’s Festivals Forum, as well as the board of a new UK-wide initiative to create professional standards for bankers. 

A frequent speaker on the future of financial services, leadership and corporate responsibility, Susan sits, inter alia, on Scotland’s Futures Forum, Scotland’s 2020 Climate Leadership Group, the Advisory Board of Oxford University’s Said Business School and has been engaged on numerous initiatives addressing financial inclusion.  Susan holds degrees from Wellesley and Aberdeen Universities, and many honorary doctorates.

Major General D A H Shaw

David Shaw has served in the Army for 36 years and is now the Major General responsible for the Army's 2nd Division based in Edinburgh.  He is also Governor of Edinburgh Castle. 

A graduate of Sandhurst, he later taught leadership there and defence management and technology at the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham.  He has considerable experience of leading international, British military and civilian personnel both on and off operations; has a notable background in public relations and was Director of Media and Communication at the height of operations in Afghanistan. 

Major General Shaw also has considerable experience in planning and delivering change programmes and has helped restructure major organisations such as the TA, the Defence fire services and major Army headquarters.  His qualifications include Defence Administration MBA; Chartered Fellow of CIPD; member of CIPR; CIM diploma; Visiting Professor to Robert Gordon University.

Professor Dame Joan K Stringer DBE

Professor Dame Joan Stringer was appointed Principal and Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh Napier (then Napier) University in January 2003, the first woman to head a Scottish University. 

Her career in Scotland began in 1980 when she took up the position of Lecturer in Public Administration at Robert Gordon University, thereafter being promoted to Head of School of Public Administration and Law and in 1991, to Assistant Principal at that same institution. In 1996, she became Principal and Vice Patron of Queen Margaret University College. 

Professor Dame Joan Stringer’s contribution to higher education and public life has been recognised in her award in 2001 of a CBE for Services to Higher Education and, in the same year, was awarded an Hon D Litt from the University of Keele. Further recognition of her achievement was made in 2009 with her award of a DBE for Services to Local and National Higher Education.  She has also received a prestigious accolade when she was made an Honorary citizen of Shandong, China 2007. She is Current Fellow of the 48 Group Club

Professor Dame Joan Stringer has contributed to a number of policy initiatives through external organisations, committees and working groups, which included membership of the Scottish Committee of Dearing.  She also sits on a number of Boards, including the Higher Education Statistics Agency; the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service; the Universities and Colleges Employers Association; Universities Scotland Executive Committee is Chair of Education UK Scotland and Convenor, Universities Scotland International Committee.  Her wider interest in the arts is reflected in her Board Membership of the National Theatre of Scotland.

Professor Dame Joan Stringer’s past appointments include: Commissioner with the Equal Opportunities Commission for Great Britain (with special responsibility as Commissioner for Scotland, 1995-2001); Member of the Secretary of State’s Consultative Steering Group on the Scottish Parliament; Auditor with the Higher Education Quality Council 1992-1997; Member of the Universities UK (formerly CVCP) Equality Challenge Steering Group; Convenor of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) 2001-2007; and Member of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland 2002-2007

Robert L McDowell

With more than 40 years of experience in the information technology industry, Robert McDowell, Vice President for Information Worker Business Value at Microsoft Corp., is focused on identifying critical business problems that can be solved through the application of Microsoft technologies.

Robert joined Microsoft in 1990 to establish Microsoft Consulting Services and grew that organisation to more than 1,200 people in more than 40 countries. In 1995 he became Vice President of the Enterprise Customer Unit and was responsible for developing the strategies for selling and marketing Microsoft technology and services to its largest corporate customers. From 1996 through 2000, he served as Vice President for Enterprise Business Relationships, working with many of Microsoft’s strategic large-enterprise customers around the world. In 2000 he became Vice President of Worldwide Services for both consulting and product support. In 2002 McDowell took on his current role in the Information Worker Group to help customers maximize their use of current Microsoft Office technologies in ways that significantly add business value to their organisations. 

Before joining Microsoft, Robert spent seven years as a partner with Ernst & Young, where he founded and managed its Strategic Business Systems practice. Before that he spent seven years as an information systems manager in the financial services industry and eight years working in information technology for the Department of Defense.

Robert is the author of several articles on the impact of information technology on business and has been quoted in many business and technology publications, including Fortune Magazine, InformationWeek and Computerworld. He is the author of the book Driving Digital, which focuses on how companies can take advantage of the e-business era. His second book, “In Search of Business Value: Ensuring a Return on Your Technology Investment,” deals with how to translate technology investments into business value. He has lectured at professional association meetings, universities and technology conferences around the world.

Robert has served on the board of directors of Visio Corp., Entevo Corp. and the Virginia Military Institute Foundation and served as a member of the Virginia Commission on Information Technology. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Military Institute and the International Advisory Board of Scottish Enterprise.

Steve Montgomery

Steve Montgomery was appointed Managing Director of ScotRail in May 2009. 

Steve joined the rail industry in 1984 as a signalman before moving on to supervisory roles and becoming an Area Relief Manager for the North of Scotland. He then worked as ScotRail Manager in Aberdeen before being appointed Area Manager for Edinburgh in 1994 as the railways prepared for privatisation.

After privatisation he was appointed as Passenger Service Manager for Central Scotland and took the same role for the North of Scotland area in 1997. Various senior posts followed. He became Operations and Safety Director when ScotRail won the franchise in October 2004.

ScotRail, the UK’s largest regional train operator, provides 95% of passenger rail services within Scotland – and Caledonian Sleeper services to and from London. More than 2,300 services are operated daily across 346 stations, including the busiest commuter network outside London – Strathclyde.

Simon Walker

Simon Walker became Director General of the Institute of Director in October 2011.  He was Chief Executive of the BVCA, the organisation that represents British private equity and venture capital from October 2007 to March 2011.

Between 2003 and 2007 Simon worked at Reuters as Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing.  He was Communications Secretary to HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace from 2000 to 2003.  Earlier he served as Director of Corporate Affairs at British Airways and a non-executive director of Comair Ltd (South Africa).  From 1996-1997 Simon worked as a special adviser in the Prime Ministers Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street.

Simon Walker was previously a partner at Brunswick, the public relations group, and Director of European Public Affairs for Hill & Knowlton in Brussels. He has been a member of the Better Regulation Commission, a Trustee of The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Trust, the New Zealand-UK Link Association, and the UK-US Jamestown Committee.  He is a governor for the environmental foundation, The Hillary Summit, a Council Member of the European Policy Forum and a member of the Parliamentary Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Public Engagement.

Simon was born in South Africa, and has worked as a journalist and consultant in New Zealand, Belgium and the UK.  He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was President of the Oxford Union and was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University.

Jason Cohen

Jason Cohen is the winner of the Young Enterprise Scotland Director of the Year Award 2011. As managing director of a team of entrepreneurs from Mearns Castle High School, Renfrewshire, Jason set up Sow Good, an environmentally friendly product range based on growing your own organic herbs at home in papier-mâché pots made from the school’s recycled paper. Acknowledging the importance of social responsibility, half of the company’s profits are being donated to Seeds for Africa, a charity which provides seeds, agricultural advice and equipment, helping African families become self sufficient, relieving poverty and promoting education – giving them a future.

 

PSYBT Showcase

Following the success of the inaugural Showcase in 2010, IoD Scotland continued to work with the PSYBT to deliver a panel of inspirational young people in business who expertly outlined what they have achieved with the support of the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust.

Brian McNicoll, Dynamo Games

Brian established Dynamo Games in 2004, developing games in the mobile phone sector. The company won a BAFTA for its Championship Manager series.  Six years on, Dynamo’s strategy changed in response to the rapidly evolving global interactive market, and its first Facebook game, Soccer Tycoon, won the 2010 Herald Digital Media Games Award, validating the company’s new focus on smartphones and social games. Managing Director Brian and his increased team of staff are now in dedicated offices in the heart of Dundee, from where they are creating the next generation of games.

 

 

Austin MacPhee, AMsportstours

AMsportstours was founded by Austin MacPhee who, while playing and coaching football in the USA, wanted to show the youngsters and their parents Scotland’s passion for the game. He organised a group to come over to Scotland and experience professional coaching, international competition and cultural education– three elements which underpin the basis for company’s international tours, whether in Europe, South America, South East Asia or South Africa. As its Managing Director and living here in St Andrews, Austin has evolved AMsportstours into new areas, including professional training, English language education, coach education and player management. Austin’s soccer club, AMsoccer, is the first Scottish club in 25 years to have players train at FC Barcelona.

Gordon Deuchars, GA Engineering (Scotland) Ltd

Gordon is managing director of GA Engineering (Scotland) Ltd. Based in Dundee, it is one of Scotland’s leading sub-contract engineering firms, primarily in the oil and gas markets.  Gordon recognises that apprentices are the future, and GA Engineering is one of only a few companies actively investing in young apprentices. “He runs one of the best apprenticeship schemes in Scotland,” according to Margaret Gibson of PSYBT. Gordon received support from PSYBT in 1992 to establish GA Engineering and he has never forgotten that support. He remains a dedicated volunteer with the PSYBT, regularly taking part in assessment panels and outreach and acting as an ambassador for the Trust.