HIE Chair Professor Lorne Crerar Reappointed

Professor Lorne Crerar has been reappointed Chair of the Board of HIE until February 2020.

Professor Crerar was recently appointed Chair of the Implementation Board which will lay the groundwork for the new Strategic Board to be established in the autumn to co-ordinate the work of Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies. 

He will also co-chair the new National Council of Rural Advisers.

Professor Crerar originally joined the Board of HIE in April 2008.  He was appointed Chair in 2012.

Announcing the reappointment, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing MSP, said:

“I am delighted that Lorne has been re-appointed to the Board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.  Lorne did a fantastic job in his previous term as Chair and his re-appointment will provide consistency and continuity to the Board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.  I wish Lorne well and I am looking forward to working with him again.”

Professor Crerar is a founding partner and Chairman of Scottish commercial law firm Harper Macleod LLP.  He held Chair of Banking Law at Glasgow University from 1997 until his retirement in 2015 and is now Emeritus Professor of Banking Law at the university.  

He was formerly Deputy Chairman of Scottish Enterprise Glasgow and was one of three Chairmen of the Housing Improvement Task Force.  Professor Crerar was appointed as Convener of the Standards Commission in 2003 and remained there until 2006, when he took up the role as Chair of the 

Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling of Public Services in Scotland, which reported in September 2007.  

He was also a non-executive Director of the Scottish Government Justice Programme Board until November 2010.

Professor Crerar’s working time is divided between the Highlands and Islands, where he has a home in Wester Ross, and Glasgow, where his business is headquartered.

He is interested in most sports and is currently the Chairman of Discipline for the Scottish Rugby Union, 6 Nations and European Rugby Cup.  He was involved as a Judicial Officer for the Rugby World Cup 2015.

Source: HIE