Public appointment: Members appointed to the Board of Crown Estate Scotland

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The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, today announced the appointment of Adam Bruce, Lorne MacLeod and Martin McEwen as Members of the Board of Crown Estate Scotland.

Members

Adam Bruce has spent the last 15 years in senior leadership roles in the global renewable energy sector. He was appointed by Scottish and UK Ministers as the first Chair of the Offshore Wind Programme Board and has chaired a number of other industry bodies. He is currently Senior Fellow at the Global Wind Energy Council and a Trustee of National Museums Scotland.

 

Lorne MacLeod is a Chartered Accountant and Director of a retail and distribution business in the Isle of Skye. He is a Scottish Land Commissioner and has extensive experience of land management and land reform policy. He was Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s first Director of Strengthening Communities, and prior to that was Chief Executive of Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise. He has been a Director of the community owned island organisations in Eriskay, South Uist and Benbecula, and the Isle of Gigha, where he was closely involved in developing their renewable energy initiatives.

Martin McEwen is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor and has sat on both the Scottish Taxes Committee and the Corporate Tax Committee at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland. He is Head of Tax at SSE plc having joined in 2008 after a number of years at PwC. He was instrumental in SSE plc becoming the first FTSE 100 company to obtain Fair Tax Mark accreditation and is a regular speaker on tax transparency and responsible corporate tax behaviour. As part of his role on the Board of Revenue Scotland, he is Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Appointments

The appointments are for three years.  Adam Bruce will be appointed from 10 June 2024 until 9 June 2027 with Lorne MacLeod appointed from 1 September 2024 until 31 August 2027.  Finally, Martin McEwen will be appointed from 1 May 2025 until 30 April 2028.

The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration and time commitment

The appointments attract £225.42 per day for a time commitment of two days per month.

Other Ministerial appointments

Adam Bruce is a Trustee of National Museums Scotland.  This role is unremunerated but has a time commitment of one day per month.

Lorne MacLeod is a Scottish Land Commissioner and receives £224.48 per day for a time commitment of two days per month.

Martin McEwen is a Member of the Board of Revenue Scotland and receives £303.52 per day for a time commitment of two days per month.

Political activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.

Adam Bruce, Lorne MacLeod and Martin McEwen have had no political activity within the last five years.

Background

Crown Estate Scotland’s purpose is ‘investing in property, natural resources and people to generate lasting value for Scotland’. The organisation is at the heart of Scotland’s journey to net zero and has a key role to play in promoting sustainable development across a range of assets and sectors.

Crown Estate Scotland is a self-financing Statutory Public Corporation accountable to the Scottish Ministers and to the Scottish Parliament. It is responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of land and property - called the Scottish Crown Estate - including seabed, coastline, commercial property and rural estates. Revenue profits from the Scottish Crown Estate are transferred to the Scottish Consolidated Fund for public spending and capital profits are reinvested in the Estate.