Our leadership team
Our leadership team is responsible for the day to day running of the business. Working with teams across the organisation, delivery partners and our Board, the team ensures we are on track to deliver success for Scotland.
Adrian Gillespie, Chief Executive
As Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s national economic development agency, Adrian is responsible for leading a global workforce to create a more productive, resilient and competitive economy for Scotland. To achieve this, Scottish Enterprise helps drive business innovation, build international competitiveness and encourages more investment in companies and infrastructure.
Previously, Adrian was The University of Strathclyde’s first Chief Commercial Officer and member of its Executive Team. He oversaw growth of the University’s extensive industry facing activities, centres and relationships as well as the development of innovative, place-based economic development projects including the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the Glasgow City Innovation District.
Before joining Strathclyde, Adrian spent sixteen years at Scottish Enterprise, where he was a member of the Executive Leadership team and Managing Director of Operations.
He led Scottish Enterprise’s business support through account management of high growth companies, entrepreneurship development and high growth start-up support, R&D and innovation support, and the business infrastructure division.
He also held various roles in areas such as the creative industries, digital media and enabling technologies, and energy and low carbon technologies.
During the 1990s, he held various commercial and financial management positions within Marks and Spencer plc.
Adrian has a Bachelor of Accountancy degree from the University of Glasgow, and an MBA with Distinction from the University of Strathclyde.
He is a former trustee of Glasgow Science Centre, the Glasgow Science Centre Endowment Fund, and a former Board member of Opportunity North East (ONE).
Jane Martin, Managing Director of Innovation and Investment
Jane leads Scottish Enterprise’s work to capitalise on Scotland’s innovative strengths supporting entrepreneurs and industry across Scotland to innovate and grow.
She does this through collaboration with partners to build the infrastructure, to develop supportive ecosystems, and by leveraging investment to help businesses innovate and scale in fast growing, international markets.
As Executive Leadership Team sponsor for the Scaling Innovation mission, Jane is responsible for Scottish Enterprise’s ambition to double the number of scale-up businesses in Scotland over the next 10 years by focusing on key future industries and clusters in life sciences, industrial biotechnology, space, fintech and quantum, photonics and semi-conductors.
Her functional responsibilities include Scottish Enterprise’s entrepreneurship and investment operations; its property and business infrastructure portfolio and Scottish Enterprise’s regional innovation work with Innovate UK and local partners.
A member of Scottish Enterprise’s Executive Leadership Team since 2015, Jane took up her most recent post in April 2022. Former roles have included leadership of Scottish Enterprise’s business engagement and support services, grant funding operations, digital transformation, service design, marketing, and communications both in Scotland and internationally.
Jane has a BA (Hons) from the University of Glasgow. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and a voluntary panel member at DSL Business Finance Ltd, a not-for-profit business lending organisation.
Gill McNeill, Chief People Officer of People, Digital and Communications
Gill leads our People, Digital and Communications function, bringing together services which are critical to ensuring Scottish Enterprise is in the best shape to deliver our ambitions for Scotland’s economy.
Working together, our digital and data capabilities alongside Human Resources, Corporate Affairs & Marketing collectively allow us to deliver the environment we need to be successful today, as well as shaping our future approach.
Before joining Scottish Enterprise, Gill was Head of People Services at Virgin Money, where she was responsible for leading multi-site colleague services and operations.
She is an experienced HR leader who has held a variety of senior roles across multiple organisations including BAE Systems, Leidos and Lloyds Banking Group.
Rhona Allison, Managing Director of Productivity and Business Growth
Rhona leads Scottish Enterprise's support services to those growth companies that drive Scotland’s innovation, investment, productivity and exporting performance. She sets and drives our focus and engagement with businesses of all sizes in Scotland. Her functional responsibilities include Scottish Enterprise’s customer service, specialist and account management services to business, and grant funding operations.
She works in close collaboration and partnership with other business support delivery organisations to enable further economic growth and development in Scotland. She leads the Business Support Partnership Programme, a commitment from Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies, Business Gateway, Local Government and the Scottish Government to co-develop and implement a partnership-first approach to delivering solutions & services to businesses, and to develop a more streamlined business support system.
As Executive Leadership Team sponsor for the mission to drive capital investment, Rhona is responsible for Scottish Enterprise’s ambition to increase the scale of capital investment to deliver a step-change in Scotland’s productivity performance, resulting in the creation of higher-value jobs, improved standards of living, and reduced poverty.
Rhona has a BSc (Hons) in Life Sciences and has worked in global roles both within and with fast-growing Scottish-based SMEs and international corporates. Within Scottish Enterprise, Rhona has worked in many parts of the operation including responsibility for setting and delivering Scottish Enterprise's Life Science strategy and building strong relationships with academics, public-sector organisations and industry, to assist in increasing the commercialisation of Scotland's world-class research base and help foster an environment to stimulate greater industry/academic collaborations.
Kerry Sharp, Chief Finance & Investment Officer
As Scottish Enterprise’s first Chief Finance & Investment Officer, Kerry’s leadership encompasses financial and corporate governance, strategy, performance, and the attraction of new investment to Scotland. Her team is responsible for efficient financial management, the preparation of Scottish Enterprise’s annual accounts, the development and embedding of risk management policies and processes, and the evolution of the corporate strategy. They ensure these services are delivered effectively to support the organisation's ambitions for the Scottish economy.
Kerry also spearheads efforts to galvanize organisational skills, assets, and expertise to maximise external investment into Scottish companies, projects, infrastructure, and industrial assets. She is a qualified accountant and chartered banker, a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. Since joining Scottish Enterprise in 2006, Kerry has held various roles, most recently leading our teams that support high-growth, innovative companies through tailored advice, funding, and commercial equity investment. Prior to her tenure at Scottish Enterprise, she worked in venture capital and corporate banking in the private sector. Kerry holds a BA (Hons) in Accountancy.
Kerry has also served on various advisory boards, including the London Co-investment Fund, Converge, and Fintech Scotland.
Reuben Aitken, Managing Director, Energy Transition and International Operations
Reuben joined Scottish Enterprise's Executive Leadership team in 2022 to drive forward its international agenda. He leads a team of over 300 across 34 locations to attract foreign direct investment into Scotland, increase Scotland’s exports and drive forward Scotland’s energy transition.
Reuben leads Scottish Enterprise’s international arm, Scottish Development International, which helps Scottish businesses compete on the global stage and drives international investment into Scotland. He also leads our energy transition mission to unlock the innovation, investment and infrastructure needed to capitalise on the economic opportunities from the energy transition.
He's committed to growing and delivering on Scotland's global economic ambitions and he's always delighted to hear from those with a trade, investment or energy agenda – so do get in touch, as he, and the team, are ready to help.
Reuben is a former diplomat with experience from Brussels to Brazil. He has worked on economic, energy and infrastructure policy and regulation in Whitehall and has led EU and UN negotiations. He was an energy regulator before overseeing the UK’s offshore transmission and interconnector policy. He led on trade policy at the Scottish Government. During the pandemic, he led the delivery of Scotland’s multi-billion-pound business support package.
Reuben is a Cambridge scholar and speaks four languages.
