Malcolm is the Interim Depute Chief Executive of The Highland Council, whose current remit covers economic development, transformation, climate change and energy, change management and ICT. Previous roles have included the Executive Chief Officer responsible for the Infrastructure, Environment and Economy Service in Highland Council. His responsibilities covered Roads and Infrastructure, Planning, Environment and Low Carbon Transport and Economic Development and Regeneration.
Recently, he has been responsible for driving forward significant economic development and transformational projects such as Opportunity Cromarty Firth, the £315m Highland City Region Deal (including inverness Castle project), Uig Harbour redevelopment, the Council’s in-house bus operations, the Wick Airport Public Service Obligation and the Levelling Up Fund bids and project delivery. He has also helped established groups such as the Highland Economic Recovery Partnership, the Regional Economic Partnership as well as contributed to other externally facing initiatives such as the Scottish Cities Alliance, the Northern Territory Programme Board, Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership, HITRANS and a national Visitor Management Group.
Morven Fancey is Head of Universities, Skills & Population at Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) - the regional economic development agency for the northern half of Scotland - where she has over 30 years’ experience of economic and regional development. Her current responsibilities include developing the university and skills system in line with regional needs and developing HIE’s approach to addressing depopulation, with a strong emphasis on housing.
Christianna is the Director of Customers and Stakeholders at Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission. Christianna and her team work to deliver a net zero future by connecting low carbon generators across the north of Scotland and supporting those already connected. They also work with Stakeholders to deliver best outcomes for customers and society from the energy system. Christianna has spent over fourteen years in the energy industry working on strategy and business development, futures and innovation. She moved into electricity transmission in 2016 to help deliver a smart sustainable system.
Nicola McAlley is a broadcaster and journalist who has been the Highlands, Islands & Moray reporter for STV News for 24 years, covering an area larger than Belgium. Her remit sees her cover everything from breaking news to sport to the occasional 'And Finally' and highlights include spending a week on uninhabited St Kilda, boarding a nuclear submarine and being dangled from a helicopter onto a moving lifeboat on the Sound of Raasay.
She was recently appointed Chair of the Highlands & Islands Media Awards and also regularly hosts corporate and charity events.
Nicola is an Ambassador for charities Highland Hospice and Keiran's Legacy and also fundraises for Dream, Believe, Achieve Highland, helping fund therapies for children with additional support needs. She also organises events for Step Up For Sam which facilitates treatment for her young nephew who has multiple complex needs.
Frank started in renewables 18 years ago, working for Nuon and then Vattenfall. Frank has performed in various parts of the business, primarily as a Project Manager. He began his renewables career in Onshore Development, before moving into Offshore Development on the East Anglia zone and then subsequently moving into the Offshore Construction team of the project. From Offshore Construction he moved into Onshore Construction and became the Construction Manager for Pen-y-Cymoedd Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in England and Wales. Following the completion of the project Frank moved into management as Head of Construction Management and in 2019 he completed the circle back into development to head up the Market Development team for Onshore Wind. Frank currently leads a team of project managers working on a broad portfolio of Onshore Wind projects across Scotland, and the rest of the UK, in various stages of development.
Stuart’s role is to lead the contracting and build-out of the proposed £multi-billion West of Orkney offshore wind project which has now submitted its offshore consent applications to Scottish Ministers and its onshore planning application to The Highland Council. With an expected capacity of around 2GW, and first power scheduled for 2029, the project will be capable of powering the equivalent of more than two million homes.
Previously, Stuart was Technical Director Offshore Wind at TotalEnergies, and brings a 25-year track record in the offshore energy sector, having held senior management positions with a number of major operators. Stuart’s responsibilities include working closely with the windfarm’s expert team to crystallise the project design and liaising with the ports, harbours and tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers who will be crucial in bringing this ambitious vision to life.
The West of Orkney Windfarm is targeting 60 percent UK content over its lifetime, with 40 percent in Scotland. This will drive skills development and create opportunities for businesses and organisations in Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney, across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Rachel joined SSE in 2007 and has been responsible for sustainability, including climate change, since 2013. Rachel is a non-Executive Director of SSEN Transmission, the SSE joint venture that owns and operates the electricity transmission network in the north of Scotland. External to SSE, Rachel pursues a series of social and environmental issues, as a Board member of the Fair Tax Foundation, a Commissioner on the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Commission and Chair of WWF Scotland’s Advisory Council. Prior to working for SSE, Rachel was the Senior Special Adviser to Scotland’s First Minister between 2001 and 2007. She has a first degree in Applied Economics and a Masters in International Political Thought.
