Nora Senior CBE Chair of the Board

Throughout a 30-year career in industry, Nora Senior has held several senior leadership positions, latterly as Group Executive Chair of global communications and government relations consultancy, Weber Shandwick, and previously with Saatchi and Saatchi, delivering multi-country programmes including China, Europe, the USA and Africa.

A former Businesswoman of the Year, Nora holds extensive experience at the non-exec board level in both public and private sector organisations, having been Chair of the Scottish Government’s independent Enterprise and Skills Board and President of the British Chambers of Commerce.

She is currently Vice Chair of the Council at the University of Nottingham and an external member of the House of Lords Commission. Until recently, Nora was a Board Member of the International Chambers of Commerce, which has UN observer status, and a Commissioner on both the College of the Future review and the Cole Commission into Trade and Exports.

Audrey Cumberford MBE - Principal and Chief Executive

Audrey Cumberford is the Principal and Chief Executive of Edinburgh College. Having graduated from Edinburgh, Audrey moved to Bristol University to undertake research in the field of sports psychology. Following this, she left the University sector and moved into private industry before returning to education, where she has held senior roles for the past 25 years.

Before her current role, Audrey led and delivered a large-scale £70m merger, resulting in the formation of West College Scotland. Audrey has held several high-profile national positions such as Board member of the Scottish Funding Council (responsible for £1.8billion funding for colleges and universities) and the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation Delivery Board. She has also had leading roles in the sector as both Vice Chair and Chair of the Scottish Principals Group and is one of Scotland’s longest-serving Principals.

Audrey was one of the founding Principals of the UK-wide College Leaders Alliance and represented Scotland on the UK’s first Independent Commission on the ‘College of the Future’. In 2020, Audrey and Paul Little published the ‘Cumberford-Little Report’, commissioned by Scottish Government Ministers to consider the economic impact of colleges.

Audrey’s career has spanned both the private and education sectors and underpins Audrey’s passion and drive to ensure tertiary education in Scotland plays a fundamental role in supporting businesses across the country – championing an environment that supports a symbiotic relationship between the business community and Scotland’s colleges as providers of vocational and technical education, business support and skills training.

Stewart Darling

An engineer by profession, Stewart spent the early part of his career in the mining and defence industries before joining Scottish and Newcastle plc in 1990 where he spent most of his time in senior commercial leadership roles covering the UK, West and Eastern Europe.

Following the sale of Scottish and Newcastle in 2008, he returned to the UK to become Group Commercial Director and Chief Operating Officer of Vianet Group plc before taking up the role of Chief Executive Officer in 2013, where he led the transformation of the business from a services provider to a technology company, and established new revenue streams that delivered multiple years of growth which saw the value of the business double as it became a leading player in the Internet of Things and data analytics industry.

He has also served as a Non-Executive Director of the governing body for golf in Scotland, provides Board and Strategic Advisory Consultancy to several clients, and is a Senior Partner at The Rubicon Partnership, a senior executive and leadership coaching practice based in Glasgow. Stewart is a keen golfer and hillwalker.

Alex Killick Vice Chair of the Board

Alex is an experienced board-level executive and non-executive director, having worked in a variety of highly unionised and complex environments, including the NHS, the Scottish Government, and Higher and Further Education.

Alex is also Co-founder and Director of Leading Kind, a culture consultancy supporting clients to make work fairer, workplaces kinder and more inclusive, and outcomes better.

A Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, has a Masters in HRM, a Prof M, Alex also holds a Certificate in Company Direction with distinction in strategy.

Alex lives in Edinburgh with his wife and teenage daughter. Outside of work, you can find Alex walking the dog or supporting Dad’s Rock, a local charity.

Ross Laird

Ross heads up Grayling in Scotland, a major international PR and communications agency, and has over 20 years of industry experience covering the energy, health, tourism and education sectors. Having completed his Communication Advertising Marketing Diploma in London, Ross worked at both the House of Commons and Citigate before taking on his current role. He is a regular speaker, blogger and trainer on politics, communications and public affairs. 

Ross has held several posts in both London and Edinburgh. He was previously a Councillor in the London Borough of Haringey and headed up the Haringey Refugee Consortium, among other posts. In Edinburgh and Midlothian, he has been a leading member of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, spearheading transport policy issues; a former board member of Archaeology Scotland; and is Vice-Chair of a local childcare provider. Ross is also currently Vice-Chair of YMCA Scotland, supporting the development of mentoring and youth work schemes. A keen cyclist and walker, he also runs a local cycling group. 

Ross lives in Midlothian with his wife and teenage daughter.

Gwen Raez

Gwen has worked at VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation for Scotland, for the last 19 years, and is now Senior Marketing Manager for the UK and North America, responsible for strategic partnerships, travel trade marketing and campaign activity in VisitScotland’s priority markets of UK, USA and Canada.

Over the last three years, Gwen has been instrumental in working in partnership with Scottish Government, Scottish Development International and Universities Scotland to ensure a ‘Brand Scotland’ voice when promoting Scotland overseas, in addition to developing and delivering multi-award-winning marketing campaigns to encourage visitors to Scotland.

Gwen is passionate about encouraging people to visit all parts of Scotland, as often as they can, and is constantly seeking innovative and engaging ways to inspire new visitors.  Having grown up in rural Cumbria, before attending university in Germany and London, Gwen is well aware of the importance of education to deliver life opportunities from childhood to retirement and is honoured to be able to help guide that journey for Edinburgh College.  Gwen has always worked in marketing, both client-side and with agencies, and now lives in Edinburgh with her husband, John and two teenage children.

Ian McLaughlan MBE

Ian McLaughlan has enjoyed a varied and enriched career working in the social care and voluntary sector for over 30 years, supporting community organisations striving to improve lives of children and young people. An experienced leader, he has been Chief Executive of three national children and young people’s organisations, the BB in Scotland, Early Years Scotland and, before retiring in March 2022, Youth Scotland.  

Leading Youth Scotland for nine years, this intermediary youth work organisation supports youth leadership and empowerment opportunities for - as well as the informal learning needs of - nearly 75,000 young people between 5 – 25 years across every local authority area of Scotland. Over 50% of the young people in Youth Scotland’s reach are living within the most disadvantaged communities in Scotland.

Ian served on the Independent Review Group addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion within Police Scotland from July 2022 until November 2024.

In a voluntary capacity, Ian is a past Chair, and currently a Fellow, of the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations (ACOSVO). Ian is also Chair of COVEY, a local charity supporting vulnerable children and families in Lanarkshire as well as being a Trustee of the parish church in Granton, North Edinburgh, within which Edinburgh College campus is located.  

Married with two grown-up children, Ian enjoys spending time with his two grandchildren, coastal walking, reading, and, more recently exploring the life and times of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Becky Duff

Becky has studied and worked in Edinburgh all her life. After obtaining an honours degree in English Literature from Edinburgh University, Becky embarked on a career in the third sector.  She has spent the last 15 years working for charities.

Most recently Becky has taken up the position of CEO with Edinburgh-based youth mental health charity, U-evolve. She leads a team that provides therapeutic support to young people in some of Scotland’s most economically deprived areas. Becky feels passionately that further and higher education should be accessible to all.  

Before taking up her position with U-evolve, Becky was Head of External Relations and Communications for a national charity. In this role, she led many successful high-profile campaigns on topics including access to new treatments, welfare rights and access to health and social care services.  

Becky has extensive experience in charity Governance, having served as a trustee for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and as Chair for the Neurological Alliance of Scotland. 

In her spare time, Becky enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and paddleboarding (although mostly sitting down!).

Fiona Doring

Fiona Doring has over 20 years of experience working in the third sector in Scotland and is Chief Executive of Impact Arts, widely recognised as one of Scotland’s leading charities. Impact Arts has been supporting people and communities to transform their lives through creativity and the arts since 1994.  

Fiona lives in Edinburgh and gained an MA in Fine Art from Edinburgh University and an MFA (Hons) from Edinburgh College of Art. She began her career working as a practising artist alongside work in arts education. It was while doing this that she realised the power of art to engage with people and communities in a meaningful and life-changing way, acting as a catalyst for social change.   

She received recognition for her work by winning The Scottish Women’s Award for Contribution to Arts and Culture in 2019.  

Fiona was formerly the Chair of the Scottish Contemporary Art Network (SCAN), a member-led organisation that champions the arts in Scotland and was previously a partner of Artworks Alliance, a UK-wide member organisation for participatory arts.

Bill Troup

Bill was born and brought up in Edinburgh and graduated from Heriot-Watt University with a BA (Hons) in Accountancy and Finance, before qualifying as a chartered accountant with KPMG. He has spent his career in corporate finance, mostly in London, spanning industry, private equity and investment banking. He has held senior positions with Morgan Advanced Materials PLC, The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and Arrowpoint Advisory LLP. He currently leads his own advisory business, Capital Advisors, focused on funding strategy for corporates. Bill has advised publicly-listed, private and family companies as well as entrepreneurs, sponsor-backed businesses and management teams, working closely with investors and lenders. He has also served as a non-executive director on private company boards.

Bill lives in Edinburgh with his wife and has three adult children. In his spare time, Bill enjoys playing golf, hillwalking, watching rugby and keeping fit. He also supports a local charity, The Friends of Easter Craiglockhart Hill, as trustee/treasurer.

Daniel Holland – Lecturing Staff Member

Daniel is a lecturer at Edinburgh College and the Lecturing Staff member of the Board. He has been a lecturer in Social Sciences & Integrated Curriculum since 2012 and is based at the Midlothian Campus.  

Daniel is an active member of Edinburgh College’s EIS-FELA Branch.

Eleanor Sim

Eleanor is a passionate and driven cybersecurity leader. She is currently the Global Chief Security Architect at Bupa, where she leads their global cybersecurity strategy. Previously, she was Head of Security Architecture at NatWest Group and spent 10 years at the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and its predecessors. Eleanor is dedicated to ensuring that technology and cybersecurity foster an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, with a particular focus on supporting young women in education. She led the development and delivery of the CyberFirst girls' competition at the NCSC and continues to support cybersecurity outreach in schools. Eleanor studied Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Edinburgh and enjoyed playing for the EULRFC. She lives in Edinburgh with her wife and two children and is pursuing an MSc in Software and System Security at Oxford. In her spare time, Eleanor enjoys paddleboarding and watching Edinburgh Rugby.

Alan Holligan - Nominated EIS-FELA Member

Alan Holligan has been teaching in universities and colleges since 1996 and is presently a lecturer at Edinburgh College's Art and Design School, specialising in Contemporary Art Practice at HND level. With extensive experience as a tutor, lecturer, and curriculum leader, Alan's expertise encompasses curriculum and qualification review at local and national levels. Over 16 years, he has contributed to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) as a Qualification and External Verifier, leading the Qualification Development team and Qualification Support team for various SQA awards.

In collaboration with stakeholders, Alan establishes connections with higher education institutions and arts organisations, highlighted by his decade-long role on the board of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop. As an artist, he primarily engages in collaborative practices, shaping his approach to learning, teaching, and art practice, where pedagogy and artistic expression coexist in the overlapping realms of Art, Education, Collaboration, and Activism.

As a former college student, Alan is keen to prioritise student achievement and progress, emphasising the development of community and opportunity, for those from less advantaged backgrounds. 

Since 2004, he has been an active member of the Educational Institute of Scotland-Further Education Lecturers Association (EIS-FELA), serving on the Edinburgh College Branch Committee Executive since 2012. In addition to his branch role, Alan represents Further Education Lecturers nationally on the EIS Council.

Adam Lowe - Student Board Member

Adam is the President of the Edinburgh College Students’ Association (ECSA).

Bethany Winker - Support Staff Member

Bethany Winkler, as the elected Support Staff Board Member, is committed to enhancing the Student Experience and supporting Edinburgh College's strategic goals. Since joining the College in December 2019, Bethany has worked as the Student Experience Manager for the Access Centre, focusing on improving services and support for students.

In April 2024, Bethany expanded their role to include the management of the Learning Support team, taking on the new title of Student Experience Manager for Learning Support and Disability Services. This expanded role now encompasses both departments, allowing Bethany to play a key role in strengthening internal processes and promoting collaboration across the College.

Outside of work, as an Australian in Scotland, Bethany is often planning her next trip. Alternatively, you will find her at the gym. Bethany is a competitive Powerlifter who has had the privilege of competing for Team Scotland.

Charlie Whitson - Student Board Member

Charlie is the Vice President (Activities) at the Edinburgh College Students’ Association (ECSA).

Derek Hynds

Derek was born and brought up in Glasgow then graduated from Heriot-Watt University with a BA (Hons) in Accountancy and Finance, before qualifying as a chartered accountant with Deloitte Haskins & Sells Glasgow. He has spent his career largely with BP in a range of finance roles; tax, audit, and senior corporate and business-facing roles in Aberdeen and London before heading to Iraq where he has spent the last 7 years. 

He is currently CFO in Iraq for the Rumaila Operating Organisation which operates the Rumaila oil field; one of the largest fields in the world and as such is a complex multi-billion $USD business.  A key focus has been creating alignment with partners, and the business leadership team and deepening integrated business planning.  This role also covers all aspects of business performance management, short- and long-term financial planning and the broader finance activities for a multi-cultural business.

Throughout his career, Derek has been instrumental in advancing capability development not least with the local Iraqi team.

Derek lives in Edinburgh with his wife Rebecca.  In his spare time, he enjoys keeping fit with the help of his PT, stocking his wine cellar, and learning about art and travel. His four grown-up children and three granddaughters also help keep things interesting.

Judit Harangozo

Judit has over 15 years of experience in risk management across the banking, insurance, and asset management sectors. She specialises in operational and resilience risk, with a strong focus on technology, cybersecurity, and transformation risk. Throughout her career, she has led the development and implementation of risk management frameworks, worked closely with senior leadership to strengthen risk culture, and helped organisations grow safely while achieving their strategic goals.

A Certified Member of the Institute of Risk Management (CMIRM), Judit is driven by a passion for bringing people together under a shared purpose and finding pragmatic solutions to complex challenges. A firm believer in the power of education to transform lives, Judit is passionate about lifelong learning and fostering environments that encourage curiosity and personal growth.

Outside of work, Judit enjoys travelling and exploring new places with her family. A lifelong bookworm, she is always on the hunt for her next great read and believes in the joy of continuous discovery through books and experiences.