Jim Mcfarlane Email & Phone Number

Over a 30 year career with Scottish Enterprise (SE) and its predecessor, the Scottish development Agency (SDA) Jim McFarlane has become one of Scotland’s foremost economic development practitioners. In the course of his career he has had a significant involvement in the development and implementation of numerous landmark projects. With the University of Edinburgh these have included the Edinburgh BioQuarter, The Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine, the creation of the new School of Informatics and the School of Informatics Commercialisation Programme (Prospekt). He also served on the Board of the University of Edinburgh’s Commercialisation Company ERI ltd.Jim is currently Managing Director Operations at Scottish Enterprise comprising a new directorate: Company Growth, Innovation, Investment and Infrastructure. This involves leadership responsibility for 400 staff and an annualised budget of £145 million. Previous senior positions held by Jim within Scottish Enterprise include periods as Chief Executive at Scottish Enterprise Borders and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian. While at SE Borders he Chaired SE’s Rural Group and led efforts to support businesses across the South of Scotland in the aftermath of the 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak. During this time he also served on the Scottish Executive’s Ministerial Advisory Committee on the future of agriculture. While at SE Edinburgh and Lothian, in addition to the major projects involving the University of Edinburgh, he also led SE project teams that established the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and Exchange Financial District; Our Dynamic Earth visitor attraction; and the Edinburgh Festival Theatre.Earlier in his career, while he was with the former SDA, Jim led the Leith Project which began the regeneration of Edinburgh’s historic port area. Later on secondment from the SDA he was also Director of Operations at the highly successful 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival.

• 

  Glasgow School Of Art

  Diploma In Town Planning (Dip Tp)