COLUMBA 1400
Board of Trustees
Our trustees support Columba 1400’s work through good governance.
Alan Porter
Trustee
Alan Porter - Trustee
Alan is Chief Financial Officer of Eden Mill distillers and has spent much of his career in private equity backed SMEs.
Following the successful sale of Arch Sciences in 2021, Alan spent some time as an independent consultant in the third sector, working with The Hunter Foundation and, latterly, as interim finance manager at Columba 1400.
Alan was delighted to be asked to become a Trustee and continue his involvement with Columba 1400 with a focus on aspects of financial governance.
Alan lives in Glasgow with his two daughters.
Anton Colella
Trustee
Anton Colella - Trustee
Anton is Global Chief Executive of Moore. He was previously Chief Executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) for over ten years, where he led its transformation. For seven of those years, he was Chairman of the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), one of the world’s leading institutes representing over one million accountants. He is a Trustee of Columba 1400 and a Visiting Professor of the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde.
Earlier in his career, Anton was Chief Executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority. He has been a Trustee of the International Valuation Standards Council, a Council Member of the Confederation of British Industry Scotland (CBI) and Chairman of the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS).
A graduate of the University of Stirling, Anton’s career began as a teacher of Religious Education.
He is married with four children, four grandsons, and two granddaughters.
David Ogilvy
Trustee
David Ogilvy - Trustee
David is a Partner with Turcan Connell where he heads up the Dispute Resolution and Employment Law Department and has management responsibility within Turcan Connell for risk and regulatory compliance.
He previously served a term as Chairman of the Employment Tribunal and he is a panel member hearing appeals before the Police Appeal Tribunal. He is currently completing a term on the Board of Examiners of the Law Society of Scotland.
He sits on the board of governors of an independent school and has previously held board appointments with a college of further education and Leuchie House, which is a charity offering respite to people with multiple sclerosis.
David has two children and his main interests are cycling, walking and gardening.
Jamie Livingston
Co-Chair
Jamie Livingston - Co-Chair
Jamie is the CEO and Chair of Livingston James Group, a portfolio of boutique Executive Search & Leadership Advisory businesses launched in 2010. The group has three brands: Livingston James (Executive Search & leadership Advisory), Rutherford Cross (Senior Finance Appointments) and Hamilton Forth (Technology & Change Appointments). Prior to setting up the business, his early career was spent in the UK & Ireland with Hays and then Michael Page (Page Group).
Beyond his professional career Jamie is Regional Chair for The Wooden Spoon Society, a rugby charity focussed on supporting disadvantaged young people. He also plays a supporting role to his wife, Chloe, in ‘Project Present’ and ‘Back to school packs’ – community initiatives that they co-founded in partnership with their Church and local authorities in the west of Scotland to provide resources and support to young people in the local community.
He and Chloe live in Glasgow with their two children and Australian Labradoodle ‘Rocky’.
Jessica Chappelle
Young Person Consultant
Jessica Chappelle - Young Person Consultant
This new role has been created to champion the voice of young people so that their views are at the heart of all decisions made by the board.
Jessica took part in our Young People's Leadership Academy in 2016. She is studying psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University, whilst also working part time and doing voluntary work.
She says: "I'm really excited to be a part of this new chapter for Columba 1400 and to have the opportunity to take on this role. It is already an amazing organisation and through adding myself and Marysia [our other Young Person Consultant] to the board they are making it even better, by saying that they value young people's opinions, and they want to listen to us."
Jessica lives at home with her parents, two younger sisters and golden retriever Aoife.
In her spare time, she loves reading, spending time with friends, going to concerts and listening to Taylor Swift.
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Judith McKay
Trustee
Judith McKay - Trustee
With 30 years’ experience of media, Judith was previously Director of Communications, Engagement and Public Affairs at NHS Lothian where she provided internal and external communications advice and strategies to help the NHS serve its community. Judith has a background in journalism, spending over 20 years at the BBC where she was a former Editor of BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland. She has worked as a TV producer, director and series editor making news programmes and current affairs documentaries based in Scotland, London and the USA. Judith is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Michael Donaldson
Co-Chair
Michael James Donaldson - Co-Chair
Mike lives in St Andrews with his wife and three children. As the Executive Chairman of James Donaldson & Sons Ltd, he is the sixth generation to work for the business which was established in 1860. After starting out on the shop floor, he has now worked for the three largest companies in the Donaldson Group. He graduated from Robert Gordon University with a BA (Hons) in Business Studies in 2002. He also studied at Napier University, becoming one of the first to gain an MSc in Timber Industry Management in 2007. Currently a Director of the James Donaldson & Sons Group of companies, Mike sits on the Governing Board of the Timber Trade Federation.
COLUMBA 1400
Staff Team
Alex Matheson
Head Chef
Alex Matheson - Head Chef
Alex was brought up on the Isle of Skye and trained to be a chef in his hometown of Portree. He then moved to the central belt and studied design, before moving back to Skye in 2007. He joined the Columban team in 2008 and is now in the process of buying his first home.
Alice Brown
Tutor
Alice Brown - Tutor
Previously Head Teacher of Tollcross Primary and Depute Head Teacher of Bonaly and Sciennes primary schools in Edinburgh, Alice is an SQH graduate and field assessor who has coached and mentored many head teachers and aspiring head teachers. During her time at Tollcross, she led the school from being a combined English and Gaelic Medium School to becoming Edinburgh’s stand-alone Gaelic Medium School. Alice has a strong interest in leading curriculum change, supporting the development of Creativity in Science for Education Scotland, working on science development for the City of Edinburgh Council, setting up a science laboratory in Sciennes and building a team of science mentors across her school cluster. She has developed cultural and educational links across many countries and helped create the junior award scheme with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. She continues to support sport development and has been a committee member of the Edinburgh Primary School Sports Association for 25 years.
Allyson Dobson
Tutor
Allyson Dobson - Tutor
Allyson began her career as a teacher of chemistry and science at Broughton High School, Edinburgh. Her professional journey has taken her through a range of roles in the Lothians, including assistant principal teacher of science at Musselburgh Grammar School, principal teacher of chemistry at Forrester High School and depute head teacher at Portobello High School. She also enjoyed a two year secondment to Learning and Teaching Scotland from 2008 to 2010. Part of this secondment involved Allyson working as a professional advisor to Scottish Government.
Allyson recently retired from her post as head teacher of Dalkeith High School, a post she held for seven years, and now has more time to enjoy her hobbies of walking, reading and cooking. She was presented with the award for Head Teacher of the Year at the Scottish Education Awards in June 2022.
Andrew Whitehead
Administrator
Andrew Whitehead - Administrator
Andrew is currently studying Business and Management at university. Born in Perth, Andrew moved to Skye in 2012 and joined the Columba 1400 team in 2018 as part of his work experience. In his spare time, he enjoys restoring old vehicles, travelling and photography.
Anna Grelewska
Administrator
Anna Grelewska - Administrator
Anna is originally from Poland. She moved to Scotland in 2006 with the intention to go back to her home country after five years, but she fell in love with Scottish hospitality, sights and food and decided to stay a bit longer.
Anna has a master’s degree in Polish Philology. Her childhood dream was to be a teacher but she chose a different path whilst in Scotland and studied Administration and IT at Edinburgh College.
Anna has been with Columba 1400 since August 2022 and loves being a part of an organisation which focuses on young people, families and those around them.
She lives in Edinburgh with her husband, two sons, cat, hamsters and African snail!
In her spare time she likes to read and explore the great outdoors.
Calum MacSween
Tutor
Calum MacSween - Tutor
Calum began his teaching career in Dumfries and Galloway, moving on to posts in Portree, Fortrose, Tain and Inverness, latterly as Head of Education at Highland Council, before retiring in 2014. In retirement, he became involved in a range of educational initiatives such as Learning for Sustainability (LfS) and Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) before concentrating time and energy into Columba 1400.
Why Columba 1400? In 2007 Calum participated in a Columba 1400 Head Teacher Leadership Academy. He says: "15 years on I still feel an enormous personal and professional benefit from that experience. It is now a privilege to be involved in facilitating Columba 1400 experiences for others."
