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Article published 05/09/2025

Our Director of Corporate Services, Ken Neilson, is to retire after more than 20 years at VisitScotland.

Ken, a chartered accountant, joined VisitScotland in 2004 following extensive experience as a financial leader in the private sector.

He currently leads the organisation’s corporate governance, procurement, legal, facilities, finance and IT functions. He’s also overseen teams across HR, digital and development, business planning and improvement teams.

Ken is the last remaining member of the senior team who was core to the integration of VisitScotland and Scotland’s tourism board network in 2005. 

He was instrumental in managing the Covid recovery fund programme which benefited thousands of tourism and events businesses.

He also played a crucial role in setting up the subsidiary company which managed and delivered the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

Ken Neilson, Director of Corporate Services, VisitScotland. Credit: Chris Watt Photography
Image: Ken Neilson, Director of Corporate Services, VisitScotland. Credit: Chris Watt Photography

Simply put, VisitScotland wouldn’t be able to deliver the work we do to support the tourism and events industry without the expertise of our corporate services teams.

From Covid recovery funds to the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, Ken’s leadership has proved pivotal in ensuring we support tourism and events and deliver economic growth for Scotland.

He has also been a huge personal support to me in my first year as Chief Executive and I am thrilled that Ken is staying for another few months to share his expertise and ensure a smooth transition with his successor.

Vicki Miller, Chief Executive, VisitScotland

VisitScotland is a great place to work, with great people doing a fantastic job in bringing prosperity and wealth to our country.

We have also faced really hard and difficult times over the years. One stand-out for me is how we responded to Covid when the whole organisation about-turned and completely changed what we did. In doing so, we were hugely successful in supporting the industry to recover from the pandemic.

It has been a genuine privilege to hold the role of director with VisitScotland, and my thanks go to all the colleagues who’ve worked with me over the years.

Ken Neilson, Director of Corporate Services, VisitScotland

Recruitment for a new Director of Corporate Services will get under way soon.

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