Highland success in Institute of Directors awards

28th March 2010

Four accolades at the recent Institute of Directors (Scotland) annual awards went to directors based in the Highlands.

At a prestigious gala dinner at Edinburgh's Sheraton Grand Hotel, Finance Secretary John Swinney congratulated winners from across Scotland who had been nominated for the awards' 18 categories. Iain MacGregor, director of Inverness-based Global Energy Group, won both the Regional Director award and topped the Emerging Director category. With six years' experience in business, he was described as an ambitious entrepreneur with a superb ability to build teams who has added significant value to Scotland's fastest growing business in the past three years.

Also from the Highlands, Eleanor McFadden, managing director of Frontier Science in Kincraig, Inverness-shire took the female director award. Eleanor has more than 25 years' experience in the management of clinical trials, including more than 20 years spent with Frontier Science and the Technology Research Foundation in Boston where she was Director of the Coordinating Center for the Eastern Co-operative Oncology Group.

In addition, James Dunbar of Inverness-based New Start Highland won the SCVO voluntary-sector director award. New Start Highland is a local charity which serves the Highlands by providing accessible support solutions and furniture re-use services for people to embark on a new beginning. Their aim is to help people who are experiencing a period of vulnerability to realise their potential and work towards a sustainable future.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) was among the sponsors of the awards. HIE chair Willy Roe said: "Out of the 18 national awards, four were won by directors in the Highlands which reflects the high calibre of the talent we have in the region. All the winners are fantastic examples of excellence in the industry and HIE is delighted that their work has been recognised by the IOD Scotland awards."

The awards were launched in 2004 by IoD Scotland to recognise and celebrate excellence at director level within the private, public and voluntary sectors, and across the Scottish regions.