You Are Here: Home  »  About Us  » Meet the Board

Edinburgh Leisure Board of Directors' Biographies.

DEREK THOMSON

Derek Thomson is Managing Director of his own consultancy services company, specialising in organisational change and leadership development.

Derek was previously a Customer Service Director with Standard Life plc's UK Financial Services business and has over 20 yearsleadership and consulting experience in areas including operations, HR, purchasing, logistics, IT and organisational change.

A native of Edinburgh, Derek enjoys a wide range of sports and has been a user of Edinburgh Leisure's facilities for over 30 years, both personally and also during 15 years service as a leader with Edinburgh Boys Brigade.

Appointed to the Board in November 2003, Derek became Vice Chairman in November 2005 and Chairman in November 2006. Previously a member of both the Audit and Finance Committee, Derek is now Chair of the Remuneration and Recruitment Committee.

Derek is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

ROBERT YATES

Robert Yates is CEO of IPA, an Edinburgh HQd international economics consultancy with whom he has won a 2nd Queens Award for Enterprise, a DTI export award and twice British Consultancy of the Year. He has over 30 years business experience and has served on the Boards of 20 companies in UK, USA, Australia and Canada. He is a qualified accountant, he studied at Sheffield and Warwick Universities. He is a keen sailor who has competed across the UK and abroad; his boat is based at EL's Port Edgar marina. He has been an EL Board member since 2002 and was appointed Vice Chair in 2006.

COUNCILLOR PAUL GODZIK

Councillor Paul Godzik is the City of Edinburgh Councillor for the Ward of the Meadows/Morningside (Ward 10) and is a member of the Labour party. He is currently employed as a senior consultant with an international communications company. Cllr Godzik has been directly involved in Scottish politics and public affairs since devolution in 1999, and worked for a range of MPs and MSPs during that period. He was previously the campaign co-ordinator for the Parliamentary Labour Group at Holyrood and has also worked for an Australian MP in the Parliament of New South Wales. He holds a degree in Public Policy, and has also studied Political Science and Canadian federal and provincial politics in Canada.

SANDY SUTHERLAND

Sandy Sutherland is a past chairman of Great Britain Basketball & Basketball Scotland; former President Glasgow University AC. As Broadcaster-journalist he has covered 10 Commonwealth and six Olympic Games; his first job was sports administrator with Universities Athletic Union in London. He was twice Scottish shot putt champion, now recreational golfer and swimmer; have played competitive badminton, football, rugby, table tennis and even weight-lifted! Age 64, he lives in Portobello with wife Liz (former GB international athlete): 3 children Joanna, Catherine & Malcolm (all involved in sport).

COUNCILLOR MARJORIE THOMAS

Councillor Marjorie Thomas is the Lib/Dem member for Leith Ward and the Lib/Dem spokesperson for Cultureand Leisure. Marjorie says she has always been keen on most sports and plays tennis and swims as much as time will allow. Her whole family are sport mad with a husband who plays golf and two sons (one a PE Teacher) who are keen sportsmen, and who play rugby, and too many other sports to mention.

UTE BECK

Ute Beck is a business development consultant and currently works for Scottish Enterprise's high growth companies team. Ute has over 20 years of experience of starting and growing companies in different European countries, and in different political and economic environments. She has held senior, executive and non-executive board positions in business, education and private sector consultancy. Ute studied at Edinburgh and Strathclyde universities and holds postgraduate degrees including an MBA. Ute has been on Edinburgh Leisure's board for the past three years. She is a keen cyclist and club swimmer, and regularly swims in the Royal Commonwealth Pool.

DOUGLAS ADAMSON

Douglas Adamson is currently the Chairperson of the Edinburgh Sports Forum a body which represents Sports Clubs in Edinburgh. In addition to that role he is President of the Scottish Gridiron Association (The lobbying body for American Football in Scotland) and has remained the General Manager of the Edinburgh Wolves American Football Club since the club's inception. In the last five years he has been closely associated with the growth of his chosen sport in Edinburgh and the Lothians working with the management board of the British American Football Association and British American Football League. He is in full time employment as a IT developer in the financial sector. When free time allows his ambition is to write screenplays having previously had a comedy sketch produced and shown on UK terrestrial television.

RICHARD JEFFREY

Richard is currently Managing Director of Edinburgh Airport Limited, a post which he has held since June 2001. Edinburgh Airport employs just over 400 staff and has an annual turnover in excess of £80M.

Prior to his appointment in Edinburgh, Richard was the Managing Director at Aberdeen Airport and prior to this held a number of roles within BAA including a Director of BAA’s International Business.

Richard has extensive experience of working as a non executive and working in partnership with the public sector. He is currently Chair of the Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, President of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, a Non Executive Board Member of the Edinburgh Convention Bureau, and a Non Executive Board Member of Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian.

Richard brings strong commercial and strategic skills, knowledge of facilities management, health and safety in public buildings and customer service.

ROY JOBSON

After graduating from the University of Durham, Roy Jobson started teaching in 1970 in North Tyneside. After some years of teaching in 2 secondary schools he moved to an Exams Board to do research and syllabus development then becoming Assistant Director of Education in Gateshead in 1980. During his teaching years Roy took a further degree in Politics and Social Policy and whilst at Gateshead completed a Master’s degree in Education. In 1985 he was appointed deputy director of Education in Manchester becoming Director in 1988. After 10 years in this post Roy became Director of Education in Edinburgh in 1998 and then Director of the Children and Families Department retiring in 2007. He was uniquely President of Directors of Education in both England and Scotland during his time as a Director. Roy was also on many national groups and Ministerial advisory bodies.

COUNCILLOR IAIN WHYTE

Iain Whyte has been a Member of the City of Edinburgh Council since April 1995 and represents Inverleith ward. He has been the Conservative Group Leader since January 2002 and was elected as Convener of Lothian and Borders Police Board in June 2007.

Outwith the Council Iain is a Non-Executive Director of Lothian NHS Board. He has previously worked in the NHS and as a Conservative Party researcher in the Scottish Parliament. He is also Governor of Fettes College, Edinburgh and a Director of EICC Ltd.

Iain, who is 39, was born in Edinburgh and lives in the city with his wife and daughter. His personal interests include golf (regularly using Edinburgh Leisure courses), Hibernian Football Club and cycling.

COUNCILLOR RONNIE CAIRNS

Married 39 years, 2 children, 3.5 grandchildren. Lives in Sighthill. Before election was:

Chairman of Sighthill, Broomhouse and Parkhead community Council.

Chairman of Sighthill Community Education Centre Management Committee.

Chairman of Community Empowerment Project.

Board member of West Edinburgh Times Community Newspaper.

Sighthill representative of West Edinburgh Partnership.

DEIDRE BROCK

Deidre is SNP Councillor for the Leith Walk ward and Convenor of the Culture and Leisure committee. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from John Curtin University in Western Australia and trained as an actress at the W.A. Academy of Performing Arts, graduating with a Diploma in Performing Arts. Deidre has worked for the last three years at the Scottish Parliament as parliamentary assistant to Rob Gibson MSP, and is the mother of two very active little girls who use Edinburgh Leisure facilities regularly!

NICK BENNETT ACA CA CPFA

Partner in Scott-Moncrieff, Chartered Accountants.

Nick leads the Scott-Moncrieff, Public Sector Audit Group and is responsible for the audits of local authorities, NHS Boards and central government agencies such as sportscotland. He is also on the Scott-Moncrieff board. He is a recognised expert across the Scottish public sector and chairs the UK group responsible for local government financial reporting. Nick is 42, married to Nicola and has two children Lucy and Ella: 4 and 8. He has been playing 5 a side (badly!) at Meadowbank for the last 12 years and also enjoys squash and cycling.

JOHN WILSON

John was born in Glasgow in 1932 and moved to Edinburgh in 1946. He joined the Royal Navy in 1950 and was invalided from the Service on a War Pension in 1960. He returned to Edinburgh where he became a school janitor, and joined the local authority branch of the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE).

John progressed through the ranks of the Trades Union movement and was seconded on a full time basis when elected Branch and District Secretary to the Union’s largest branch of over 8,000 members and to the National Executive of NUPE.

In 1961 he became a member of the Labour Party, then in 1977 was elected to the City of Edinburgh District Council and remained a Councillor until 1996 having spent the previous four years as Deputy Lord Provost. John was elected in 1997 to the post as National President of the Scottish Pensions Association a position he held until June 2007 when he retired under rule. The National Pensioners’ Convention (Scotland) was inaugurated in 2003 and John was elected secretary, a post he still holds.

John is also a Justice of the Peace, was a member of the Scottish Secretary of State’s Justices Committee and served on the Bench of the District Court for many years. He is a founding Director on the Board of Edinburgh Leisure, and President of the Edinburgh/San Diego Sister City Association. John is married to Theresa, they have four sons, ten grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

SHELLEY HUNTER

Shelley was educated in Engineering Science at the University of Aberdeen and is a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. She has worked in consultancy, contracting, manufacturing and the public sector and is currently a Project Manager with the Facilities Development Department of the National Agency for Sport, sportscotland. Shelley has played hockey for several years and is a recent convert to judo. She and her family are keen users of Edinburgh Leisure’s facilities and classes.