News
July 15, 2014
Trustees Appointed to the Board of National Museums
Scotland
Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, today
announced the appointment of Dr Brian Lang, Lynda Logan, Catriona MacDonald
and Eilidh Wiseman as Trustees to the Board of National Museums Scotland (NMS).
Dr Brian Lang was born in Edinburgh and educated at the Royal High School and
the University of Edinburgh. He began his career as a social anthropologist. Dr
Lang carried out field research in Kenya and then lectured in social anthropology for
some years at Aarhus University, Denmark. Returning to the UK, he held a number
of senior posts in conservation and heritage, including the National Heritage
Memorial Fund, the National Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund before his
appointment as Chief Executive and Deputy Chair of the British Library from 1991 to
2000. He then took the posts of Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of
St-Andrews between 2000 and 2008. He is currently Chair of the Royal Scottish
National Orchestra and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Lynda Logan has spent over 20 years with Wood Mackenzie in a variety of
research, consulting and commercial roles. She brings international experience
having lived in the US since 1998 – initially in Houston, then in New York City where
she relocated to in 2004 to establish Wood Mackenzie’s office there. She is a
member of the Global Scot Network and is actively involved in the arts through board
membership of the New York Foundation for the Arts. She joined the development
board of National Museums Scotland in 2013.
Dr Catriona MacDonald is a reader in Late Modern Scottish History at the
University of Glasgow. She is currently Modern Editor of the Scottish Historical
Review. Her major publications include The Radical Thread and Whaur Extremes
Meet: Scotland’s Twentieth Century.
Eilidh Wiseman is a solicitor, specialising in the area of employment law. She
brings over 20 years’ experience of labour and employee relations and guidance to
HR departments on the issues of employment law which impact on the day-to-day
running and the strategic director of organisations. She has significant management
experience in the area of professional services and has led successful teams over
many years. Eilidh is a Council member of The Law Society of Scotland and
Convenor of its Education and Training Committee.
These appointments will be for four years and will run from 1 September 2014 to
31 August 2018.
The appointments are part-time with a time commitment of ten days per year. The
appointments are not remunerated. None of the appointees hold any other
Ministerial appointments.
This appointment is regulated by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public
Life in Scotland.
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. None of the
appointees have undertaken any political activities in the last five years.
National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in Europe, and
cares for a collection of over four million items of national and international
importance. Following the recent major redevelopment of the National Museum of
Scotland, NMS receives around 2.5 million visitors over its various sites and over
1.5 million web visitors a year. National Museums Scotland is a large, complex and
vibrant organisation with four museums, 450 staff and an annual budget of over
£23 million.