In advance of our AGM on 3rd November, this is a notice to inform members of a change to the position of Treasurer.
At the Stated Company Meeting on 6th October, Mr Alistair Smith was proposed and seconded for re-election as Treasurer. However, since then, matters have changed somewhat.
Since his election as Treasurer exactly a year ago, Alistair’s personal circumstances have changed significantly. Earlier this year he took up a new role as Head of Real Estate at Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, headquartered in Leeds and with a UK wide client base. He is finding this role, which is to define, attain regulator approval and then build and launch a c £5Bn UK and Global investment fund over the next 24 to 36 months, to be an extremely demanding one and, as a result, he cannot be certain that he can make the necessary time available for proper leadership of the Company from 2023.
Following detailed consideration and discussion with the Old Master and myself, Alistair has come to the conclusion that, in the best interests of the Company, the right course is for him to tender his resignation as Treasurer to enable an orderly process for the appointment of a successor who can take on the role of Treasurer for the next year and then, subject to election, the role of Master after that.
The Treasurer has conveyed to me, and wishes to convey to The Old Masters, the Court and the whole Company his deep gratitude at the honour to have been elected Treasurer and affirms his intention to continue to support all the important activities of the company as his availability will allow.
I believe that, given the circumstances, Alistair has arrived at the right decision and I hope that, in time, his stepping down might prove to be a deferral rather than an outright termination of his active involvement with the Company at a senior level. I am sorry that Alistair has found himself in such a difficult position and would take this opportunity to thank him very much for his service to the Company over the last year.
As a result of Alistair’s resignation, there is a vacancy for the post of Treasurer and, at the AGM I will be proposing Dame Sue Bruce for election to that position.
Dame Sue will be known to many members through her service as an Assistant from 2016-18 and through her career in local government, laterally as Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council. Since retiring from that role in 2016 she has developed an impressive portfolio of part time and non-executive appointments. She is currently Chair of The Prince’s Foundation, a non-executive director of SSE PLC, Convenor of the Court of the University of Strathclyde and an Electoral Commissioner for Scotland. Sue’s wide range of experience in leadership, management and in the charitable sector mean that she will be able to settle into the role of Treasurer very quickly and I am looking forward to working with her.
The AGM is at 5.30 pm on Thursday 3rd November and I hope that as many members as possible will be able to attend.
Alan S Robertson
Master