Stuart Patrick CBE has been central to the Scottish economy, business community, and the city of Glasgow for more than 20 years. He’s provided inspiring leadership as the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Glasgow and the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. Stuart began his career at Ernst and Young where he qualified as a chartered accountant and studied for an MBA with us here at the University of Strathclyde.
Stuart was a central figure in the strategies, investments, and promotions that enabled Glasgow to recover from de-industrialisation and to emerge as a city with a diverse business base, a high level of entrepreneurship, a proud and capable identity and a reputation on the global stage. Most importantly, Stuart inspired a highly committed cadre of capable business leaders who champion and support the city. He’s played a unique role in fostering the leadership capacity of Glasgow.

He holds a wide variety of public service Board memberships in Glasgow, including:

– Glasgow City Regional Partnership
– Glasgow Partnership for Economic Growth
– Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company (URC)
– City of Glasgow College
– Glasgow Science Centre
– Four Acres Trust

On top of this, Stuart holds prominent leadership roles as Chair of the Wise Group and Glasgow City of Science & Innovation and is co-Chair, with the Deputy City Leader, of the Glasgow City Centre Task Force. Stuart was appointed a non-Executive Board Member of The Scotland Office in 2020 in recognition of his business leadership role in Scotland’s largest city. In 2020, he also joined the Board of British Chambers of Commerce, further using the position to promote and advocate for Glasgow and its diverse business community.

Andy Thompson is our Portfolio Director for Renewable Energy, bringing a wealth of experience in international trade and investment. His previous roles include positions with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission and the Canadian High Commission in London, where he managed significant investment projects across industries such as Financial Services, Technology, Energy, and Defence and Security. At the Growth Board, Andy is responsible for advancing renewable energy projects, including the development of the Thames Estuary Hydrogen cluster and new district heat networks.

His personal interests in sports and travel often intersect, resulting in memorable moments which include attending the Rugby World Cup in France.

James leads Digital & Energy Services, EQUANS UK which incorporates 5 business units focussed on shaping, designing, constructing and operating renewable energy & decarbonisation projects alongside delivery of real world digital solutions to optimise buildings and infrastructure.

James has worked with EQUANS for just under 10 years and he has held a number of key roles in that time, previously leading the UK commercial function across the public sector and energy business.

In recent years his focus has been on the energy transition required in order to deliver Net Zero for both the public and private sectors. James is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Chairs the Hydrogen Delivery Council’s Job, Skills and Supply Chains working Group.

Chris is a Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, where he helps public sector transport customers to make the best and most efficient use of cloud technologies. He has worked with both national and local bodies and organisations across rail, road, and aviation, and on projects ranging from Internet of Things and digital twins to data strategy and data centre exits.