Lena Wilson (executive)

Lena Cooper Wilson CBE (born c. 1965) is a United Kingdom Scottish executive and bank employee. She rose to be the CEO of Scottish Enterprise. She went on to directorships with a number of organisations.

For the Blues singer, see Lena Wilson.
Lena Wilson
Born
Lena Cooper Wilson

c.1965
Yorkhill, Glasgow
NationalityBritish
EducationGlasgow Caledonian University and University of Strathclyde
OccupationExecutive
Known forCEO of Scottish Enterprise
SuccessorSteve Dunlop

Early life and career

Wilson was born in Yorkhill which is part of Glasgow near Partick[1] in about 1965.[2] At the age of two her parents moved to East Kilbride so that her father could work for Rolls-Royce plc. He stepped down in role to become a labourer to give the family a more rural outlook. Wilson was keen at school but she wasn't attracted to science and engineering. When she went to university she studied Business Administration at Glasgow Caledonian University with a vague ambition of becoming a diplomat or working for the United Nations. She realised that she needed to find the money to travel to London for work and her first job was advertised as a "Girl Friday" when such adverts were legal in Britain.[1]

Wilson became the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise in 2009. She had previously lead Scotland’s international trade and investment arm "Scottish Development International".[3]

Wilson was involved when Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond signed the Masdar agreement with Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber on behalf of UAE's Masdar Institute of Science and Technology at the World Future Energy Summit in 2012. Hundreds will co-operate on the development of wind power.[4]

Wilson was awarded a CBE in 2015 for her contribution to "economic development" in Scotland.[5] Wilson lead the government's Scottish O&G job taskforce whose task was completed in 2017[6] and the same year she left Scottish Enterprise in October. She had received criticism from the Scottish Parliament over taking a paid, non-executive directorship with the multinational product testing and certification company Interek.[7] Wilson had been paid £214,000 a year by Scottish Enterprise and she was replaced by Steve Dunlop. Dunlop was offered £168,000 a year and he was said to be one of the top paid civil servants in Scotland.[8]

Wilson also joined the board of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2017.[7]

In 2019, she became the chair of the accountancy firm "Chiene and Tait" which is based in Edinburgh[9] In the same year, she was elected to be a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[10]

References
  1. Northrop, Alasdair (2011-03-15). "The Big Profile: Lena Wilson, Scottish Enterprise". businessInsider. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  2. MarketScreener. "Lena Cooper Wilson - Biography". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  3. McSherry, Mark. "New roles for ex-Scottish Enterprise CEO Lena Wilson – Scottish Financial Review". Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  4. "Masdar and Scotland take renewable vows | Reuters Events | Renewables". www.reutersevents.com. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  5. "Lena Wilson CBE | NatWest Group". www.natwestgroup.com. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  6. "Scottish O&G job taskforce hands baton to Industry Leadership Group". Offshore Energy. 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  7. "Former Scottish Enterprise boss Lena Wilson joins RBS board". BBC News. 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  8. "New Scottish Enterprise chief gets £168,000 salary". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  9. "Former SE chief Lena Wilson to become accountancy firm chair". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  10. "Dr Lena Cooper Wilson CBE FRSE". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
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