BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Honorary President
Guy Clark, FSI, JP, Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire
Honorary Vice Presidents
John Ritchie
Dr Helen Laird, OBE, DL,MA, PhD
Ron Kennedy, TD, FCII
Governance
Members of the Board of Directors - Governors of the School - are responsible as Trustees for the running of the School to the Office of Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR). Each year a full report and a statement of Accounts has to be filed. As well as holding an Annual General Meeting, the Board meets at least twice a term but frequently more. It operates mainly through Committees; this allows Governors, the majority in full time employment, to share out the work most effectively. Thus we have Finance, Education, Development, Estates, Charitable Status Compliance, Health & Safety, Property Development, Remuneration and Nomination Committees. These committees report to the Full Board at each meeting when decisions can be discussed and confirmed. The Rector, the Business Manager/Senior Depute Rector and Company Secretary normally attend all Governors meetings and a wider category of Staff attend Committee meetings as appropriate. It is customary for the Chair of the Parents Association to attend Governors meetings for the first item to discuss matters of mutual interest.
The Board appoints new Governors at an Annual General Meeting and elects its Chairman and Vice Chairman. The Nominations Committee suggests candidates for new members, taking into account the need for individual expertise, e.g financial, legal, educational building etc. There is also an attempt made to balance the Board on grounds of age, gender and expertise. Because a high degree of commitment is required from members it normally means that those chosen have had some involvement with the School as Parents, Former Parents, or Former Pupils through which they feel a close identity and a sense of obligation.
Board of Directors
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Colin McClatchie, BSc (Econ)(Chairman)
Born in Belfast, Colin graduated with a Honours Degree in Economics from Queen's University. He pursued a career in press and publishing, culminating in a position as Managing Director of News International Newspapers for Scotland and Ireland. He is a former Chairman of the Institute of Directors, Scotland, and a former Director of Scottish Enterprise, where he chaired the Nominations and Renumerations Committees. He currently sits on a number of company boards; he is Chairman of both Scottish Opera and Glasgow UNESCO City of Music. He also acts as a consultant to various companies.
Colin is married to Claire, and has two daughters, both of whom attended St Columba's. He has lived in Kilmacolm for over 25 years. He enjoys family life, opera, theatre, and golf.
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Dr Aileen Findlay, BSc, MB ChB, MRCGP (Deputy Chairman)
Aileen is married to Iain; they have five children - Douglas, Alastair, Iain, Caitlin and Gavin, all of whom have been at St Columba’s - three of whom have now moved on to further education.
She was born in England and studied medicine at Edinburgh University. She works eight sessions as a partner in the Bridge of Weir/Houston General Practice, where she is the educational supervisor for the GP trainees. In her spare time she likes to walk her dogs.
(Convener of the Education Committee and member of the Charity Compliance Committee & the Remuneration & Nominations Committees)
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Nicola Watson, MCSP
Nicola is a former pupil of St Columba’s, leaving Senior VI in 1998. She qualified as a physiotherapist of Robert Gordon's, Aberdeen in 2002, which has allowed her the opportunities to work in the Outer Hebrides, New Zealand, the NHS, private sector and in her current role with the military. She now lives in Glasgow and enjoys catching up with friends, playing sport and music.
(Member of Health and Safety Committee)
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John Broadfoot, BA, MEd
John Broadfoot was Rector at Kelvinside Academy from 1998 until his retirement in 2009. Prior to that, he taught English and held a number of positions in both the state and independent sectors. He has a longstanding connection with Kilmacolm, indeed his sister, mother, aunt and uncle (Dardenne) all attended St Columba's. His interests include travel, mountaineering and Scottish culture. He is married to Cecilia and has three grown up children.
(Member of Education Committee)
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Graham Cunning, BAcc, CA
Graham was brought up in Glasgow and attended Hutchesons' Grammar School. Graduating from the University of Glasgow with a Bachelor of Accountancy, he went on to qualify as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG, and then spent two years in Pittsburgh, USA with PwC. His business experience is in Corporate Insolvency, Corporate Finance and Banking, dealing with companies across a variety of sectors from start up through to FTSE 100 PLCs. Most recently Graham worked with Clydesdale Bank PLC for ten years and latterly heading up their Acquisition Finance business across the UK.
He is married with three children, two of whom currenly attend St Columba's and one of whom is an FP. His wife is also an FP. Graham loves most sports and played rugby both at school and afterwards for GHA. Sports now include skiing, golf and the dreaded gym! Graham also has a passion for live music.
(Member of Finance Committee & Marketing, PR and Fundraising Committee)
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Hugh Currie, BSc, CEng MICE
Hugh was Managing Director of Lithgows Limited, an old Scottish family-owned business, and due to the diverse nature of the business, in aquaculture, boat building, ship repairs, renewable energy and property, he travelled extensively. After nearly 32 years of working for Lithgows Hugh left the company in 2011 and set up his own consultancy business.
He has been married to Lesley for thirty-nine years and they have two daughters, Jennifer and Jillian, both of whom attended St Columba’s, and both of whom are now lawyers. They also have one grandson, Sebastian. His hobbies are skiing, golf and salmon fishing.
Hugh is a former Chairman of CBI Scotland, a former Vice Chairman of Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire before its dissolution and a former member of the Greenock Academy School Board. He has been a Governor of St Columba’s School for thirteen years, during which he has sat on most of the key committees. This has given him a good knowledge of the School’s strengths and greatly assisted in identifying areas for improvement.
(Member of the Education, Finance Committees, Convener of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and of the Charity Compliance Committee)
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Katharine Hardie, LLB (Hons), DLP
Katharine is a solicitor and partner in national law firm McGrigors LLP. She is the Business Group Head of the Real Estate team and sits on the Board of the firm. Originally from Aberdeen, Katharine has worked in Glasgow since qualifying as a solicitor and now lives in Kilmacolm with husband Michael and daughters Hannah and Grace, both of whom attend St Columba's. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with friends and family, music, theatre and dancing.
(Member of Development/Building Committee)
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Helen MacConnacher
Originally from Glasgow, Helen has lived in Kilmacolm for nearly thirty years since marrying Ian. She was educated at the High School of Glasgow and worked for the Clydesdale Bank, before, following a career as a full-time wife and mum.
Son Jamie is a St Columba's former pupil and father-in-law Ian is a former Governor. Helen was involved in organising rugby hospitality and still maintains her direct contact with School, assisting with Duke of Edinburgh hikes. Helen is also a member of the Kilmacolm Community Council. In her free time Helen enjoys home life, travel, reading and hiking and her enjoyment of all sports is mainly focused on rugby.
(Member of the Marketing, PR and Fundraising Committee and Community Group Liaison)
Dr Fiona Macmillan
Fiona is married to Michael, who is a consultant anaesthetist at the Western Infirmary and they have three children, Lucy (J2), Tess (J4) and Jamie (J6). She is a mathematics graduate of Aberdeen (MA, PhD) and has specialised in Risk Management. She has experience of marketing and joined the Governors’ Development Group in 2012.
Colin Taylor, BSc, MRICS
Colin is married to Alison and their daughter Georgia (SV) has been at St Columba’s since pre-school.
He is a graduate in Land Economics and a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Colin has enjoyed a very successful career in the UK commercial property industry having been directly involved in the development of over one million square feet of space, spanning over fifty projects in the retail, offices, leisure, mixed-use residential and strategic land sectors. He now runs his own private commercial investment and development company, Rubicon Land.
Colin is a founding member of the Charity ‘Never mind the business’ which has raised over one million pounds for Action for Children over the last ten years. His hobbies include songwriting and performing his own contemporary music, sailing, football and travelling.
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Paul Yacoubian, BAcc, CA
Paul Yacoubian is the Managing Director of Craig Corporate Limited, a management consultancy focused on business management, corporate finance and taxation. Paul and his wife Paula have been resident in Kilmacolm for twenty years. They have four sons, all of whom have received (and, in the case of the youngest, isstill receiving) their education at the school. Paul joined the board in November 2006.
(Convener of the Finance Committee and member of the Remuneration and Nominations, and Charity Compliance Committees)