Board Members

Tim Allan became chair of V&A Dundee in August 2019.

A graduate of the University of St Andrews, Tim is a private equity and property entrepreneur with many outside philanthropic interests. Tim is a founder of MFG, the largest forecourt owner and retailer in the UK, and he owns Tricorn Capital, a diversified private investment company with venture capital, private equity and commercial property interests. He has been a member of Court at the University of St Andrews since 2016.

Tim is a director of the Edinburgh-based Archangels angel investment syndicate and has invested widely in early stage Scottish technology businesses.

Tim holds The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and serves as a Deputy Lieutenant for Clackmannanshire. He was awarded a CBE for services to business, charity and the arts in the New Year Honours List for 2022.

Beth Bate is Director of Dundee Contemporary Arts. With large-scale gallery spaces, cinemas, a print studio and an award-winning learning programme, DCA attracts 400,000 visits a year.

Previously Beth was Director of Great North Run Culture in Newcastle and a consultant on curatorial and advocacy projects with organisations including The British Museum, Arts Council England, and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.

Originally from Wales, Beth has a BA (Hons) in English with History of Art and an MA in Museum Studies. She is a Clore Fellow, a Trustee of Edinburgh Art Festival and a member of the Scotland Advisory Committee for the British Council. Beth was a selector for the British Pavilion‘s 2022 presentation of Sonia Boyce at Venice Biennale and is a member of the Art Fund’s Steering Group on Touring and Shared Exhibitions Research. She is also part of the Dundee Partnership Cultural Strategy Group and the Tayside Regional Programming Group, was a selector for the Fleming Wyfold Art Prize in 2018 and is a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Culture.

Paul is Chairman of hub South East Scotland Ltd, a partnership between construction, private equity and public sector shareholders. It develops and manages delivery of infrastructure projects for public bodies involving over £400m of new infrastructure to date, including schools and hospitals.

Paul retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2017 following a career as a Partner and Corporate Finance Adviser focused on infrastructure, green energy and government advisory roles. He was Senior Partner of PwC’s Edinburgh Office and led PwC’s relationship with the Fraser of Allander Institute supporting and developing their Economic Commentary. He has also held roles in the green energy and energy efficiency sectors, was on the advisory group devising the blueprint for the Scottish National Investment Bank and was chair of a school governing council.

Iain Gillespie was appointed Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee in January 2021.

Prior to that Iain was Pro Vice Chancellor, Research and Enterprise at the University of Leicester. Iain led their £100M Space Park development and the university’s Global Strategy, including Joint Education initiatives with Dalian University of Technology and with Chongqing Medical University as well as the establishment of the sector-leading Nairobi Alliance in partnership with leading African universities.

He was formerly Director of Science and Innovation at the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and was lead director for international research across all seven UK research councils.

Prior to NERC, Iain was Visiting Professor in innovation in the life sciences at the University of Edinburgh. He spent 10 years at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development leading work on science, technology and innovation and more than a decade in UK central government.

Professor Liz Bacon is Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Abertay University.

Liz is a National Teaching Fellow, a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a Trustee of Bletchley Park Trust. She is a past President of EQANIE (European Quality Assurance Network for Informatics Education), a past President of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and a past Chair of both the BCS Academy of Computing, and CPHC (Council of Professors and Heads of Computing).

Liz is a Professor of Computer Science with a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, and is a worldwide speaker on a range of topics, including preparing staff and students for the fourth industrial revolution’s impact on teaching, learning and work, and improving diversity and participation in STEM, particularly among women and people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Throughout her career, Liz has worked to improve quality and standards in higher education, including a focus on degree accreditation standards in computer science both in the UK and internationally.

Rachel’s career has focused on strategic research, supporting clients with simple but effective ways to improve their communications. She is a Director at communications consultancy Message House, where she concentrates on the importance of language, messaging and tone to drive audience understanding and engagement.

As a former WPP Fellow, Rachel brings to the Board a strong understanding of the inter-disciplinary nature of communications.

She has always been passionate about the visual arts – particularly Surrealism and architecture – and has contributed to the sector in several ways. In 2019 she came to the end of two terms on the Board of the Tate Gallery Members Council and has previously worked voluntarily with the Art Fund, The Photographer’s Gallery and Kids in Museums. She has recently also served on the Board of the Hebrides Ensemble. In 2011, she achieved the Christie’s Foundation Certificate in Art Business, with Distinction.

Greg Colgan was appointed to the post of Chief Executive of Dundee City Council in December 2020.

Prior to this Greg, held the post of Executive Director of Corporate Services from 2017 to 202. This post involved being the Section 95 Officer for the Council, and Treasurer of the Tayside Pension Fund. Prior to this, Greg held a number of other positions within the Council, such as Head of Customer Services & IT, Head of Corporate Debt & Welfare Reform and Finance & Corporate Services Manager (Housing).

Prior to joining the Council in 2009, Greg worked in a Housing Association as Finance & IT Manager. Greg trained as an Accountant with a Global Manufacturing and Engineering Organisation.

Greg is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Housing and also the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE).

Abigail Pogson took up the role of Managing Director of Sage Gateshead in May 2015. Abigail was born and grew up in Yorkshire. Following a degree in Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University and an MA in Cultural Management at City University, she began working in the arts. Combining a commitment to developing artists and supporting them to create great work with a passion for ensuring that the arts can be accessed by as many people as possible, she has worked for English National Opera, Music Theatre Wales and the Society for the Promotion of New Music.

In 2007/8 she was a Fellow on the Clore Leadership Programme. She joined Sage Gateshead from Spitalfields Music, a charity based in east London. Serving the local area with the highest quality music in two annual festivals and a year-round Learning and Participation Programme, Spitalfields Music enjoys an international reputation for its quality, reach and innovation.

Tim has been Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the V&A, the world's leading museum of art, design and performance, since 2013. Taking a strategic and operational overview of museum activities, Tim is also leading the creation of V&A East in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, east London, which will see a new research and collections centre alongside new gallery and exhibition spaces. He also leads the V&A's international strategy and oversaw the opening of the V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shenzhen in 2017.

Before joining the V&A, Tim was Director of Historic Properties at English Heritage. He is a graduate in Ancient History from Royal Holloway, University of London, and studied at the Institute of Archaeology (UCL) and INSEAD on its International Executive Programme. He is a trustee of Paintings in Hospitals and the Canal and River Trust, and a member of the Hunterian Strategic Development Board.

James is a Barrister with more than 15 years of experience of representing businesses nationally and internationally. He is General Counsel & Company Secretary of Treatwell operating in the wellness, beauty and tech space. He has led legal departments for IKEA and INGKA representing the UK, Ireland, USA and Canada.

He has served internationally as a Director on Boards operating in the fields of investment, tech, solar, wind and forestry. James has also championed and led initiatives on diversity and inclusion, supporting businesses on equity and equality. James currently supports CW Mind as a non-executive director- a mental health charity specialising in care for children and adults.

Kieran Long is the director and CEO of Amos Rex, an art museum in Helsinki, Finland, that opened in 2018 and has since become one of Europe’s most successful new cultural institutions.

Previously, he was the director of ArkDes, the national museum of architecture and design in Stockholm, Sweden, overseeing an internationally significant programme of exhibitions and redeveloping the museum with a new collections exhibition and newly designed exhibition spaces. Before he moved to Sweden, Kieran was Keeper of the department of Design, Architecture and Digital at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. He has over 20 years of experience in architecture, design and museums, as a BBC broadcaster, journalist, author, critic, educator, public speaker and curator.

Adele has been developing innovative cultural projects and community learning and teaching rooted in equalities for over 30 years. She co-founded Glasgow Women’s Library in 1991 and is currently a Co-Director.

Trained as a designer at Glasgow School of Art (where she subsequently taught Gender, Art and Culture) Adele’s work spans the development of innovation housing projects including Take Root, research (including ongoing work on Feminist Leadership Following a Clore Leadership Fellowship in 2018/2019), publishing, collaborations with a wide range of creatives and work as a movement leader addressing inequalities in the cultural sector. Adele was Scotswoman of the Year in 2016.

Born in Dundee, Mike Soutar started his working life as a journalist writing horoscopes at DC Thomson. Across a 35-year career Mike has worked in leadership roles in magazine publishing, newspapers, digital media, radio and television in the UK and America.

Mike was most recently Chief Executive of the Evening Standard and is on the boards of several businesses stretching from contemporary art and TV production to fintech. An experienced director, Mike has served as a trustee board member of Comic Relief and the Independent Press Standards Organisation. He is based in London.

Chris led the work of the committee (the UK’s statutory climate advisers) to recommend a ‘Net Zero’ target for the UK, the world’s first legislated Net Zero target. He has since directed the development of detailed pathways for the UK to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. In 2021, he presented the UK’s third climate change risk assessment, with detailed analysis and advice on the extensive risks facing the UK from climate change.

Chris has held senior roles in central government, including HM Treasury and as Director for Energy and Climate Change in the Scottish Government. He is a regular commentator in national and international media and featured in David Attenborough’s documentary, Climate Change – The Facts.

Zandra devises museum interventions, community conversations and digital initiatives. She works with The Hunterian collections to explore the multiple meanings, different perspectives and stories associated with them. Bringing many years of professional experience working in the social justice and equality field, promoting diversity and inclusion, she has a PGDip in Citizenship and Human Rights from Glasgow Caledonian University.

Previously, Zandra was the Community Campaigns Officer for the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, responsible for coordinating Black History Month events programme in Scotland. For more than a decade, she has assisted the Scottish arts and heritage sector, helping to question working practices, involve new audiences and ensure that anti-racism, equality and diversity is at the heart of all they do.