Strategy and Competitive Intelligence Directorate

Helping us understand what is changing, what matters most, and where the greatest opportunities for growth lie.

This directorate leads on connecting the evidence, creative expertise, and stakeholders that help us make confident decisions, strengthen Scotland's global profile, and champion the sustainable growth of our visitor economy.

By combining strategic insight, market intelligence, corporate affairs, and creative expertise, it supports evidence-based decision making, strengthens Scotland's profile at home and internationally, and helps maximise the impact of our activities.

The directorate also ensures we have the research, analysis, stakeholder relationships, and creative capabilities needed to respond to a fast-changing environment and to deliver long-term impact.

Key areas of focus are:

strategic planning and organisational prioritisation
data analysis, forecasting, measurement, and evaluation
competitive intelligence, market insight, research, and horizon scanning
corporate communications, public affairs, and visitor economy storytelling
brand stewardship, creative development and content production
strategic stakeholder engagement and international partnerships
building organisational and industry capability through insight and knowledge sharing

Director of Strategy and Competitive Intelligence – Cat Leaver

An award-winning strategic leader with experience across the private and public sectors, Cat was appointed Director of Strategy and Competitive Intelligence in November 2024.

She had previously led marketing and digital departments across VisitScotland, including teams from user experience (UX) and front-end development to content, creative, PR, and global campaigns.

Prior to this, Cat was the inaugural Director of Brand Scotland, where she led a cross-agency initiative to enhance Scotland’s global profile, delivering the #ScotlandIsNow multi-year campaign.

She also spent more than seven years in the digital agency world, leading teams in London, Manchester, and Glasgow, and serving a diverse global client base.

Cat is an ambassador for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice and has held non-executive board positions, as well as advisory board roles with City Nation Place and The Marketing Society of Scotland.

Cat Leaver

Corporate Affairs

Led by Carolyn Churchill, this department shapes and protects our corporate reputation, stakeholder relationships, and organisational narrative.

The department is made up of specialists across:

Corporate communications and Media Relations
Public Affairs and Policy Stakeholder Engagement
Internal Communications and Employee Engagement
Executive and CEO Engagement
Corporate Events

Through their work, the department strengthens understanding of the visitor economy's value, builds stakeholder confidence and support, and reinforces our role and impact across Scotland's tourism and events industry.

This includes the delivery of our flagship industry events, including VisitScotland Connect, the Scottish Thistle Awards, the National Events Conference, and the National Business Events Conference.

Creative Studio

This department is led by Madeleine Macaulay-Stuart, with Alan Kittle currently overseeing the department whilst Madeleine is on maternity leave.

The department consists of experts across:

Brand
Destination storytelling
Print, digital, motion, and illustration design
Creative production
Photography, videography and drone piloting

Our Creative Studio leverages our brand, design, and multimedia-production talent to bring the our and the destination brand to life across a range of media, maximising cut-through and impact in a competitive global landscape.

Data and Insights

Led by John Quinn, this department provides market intelligence, strategic insight, research, analysis, and evaluation to guide organisational decision-making and support the sustainable growth of Scotland's tourism and events sector.

The department has expertise across:

Data analysis, science, and engineering
Research and user-experience design
Insight interpretation and activation
Market intelligence and modelling
Economic measurement and impact assessment
Strategy and sustainable growth development

Their work helps shape the future of the visitor economy through evidence-based thinking, competitive intelligence, and analysis.

By challenging assumptions, identifying opportunities, and providing robust insight, it supports informed decision-making and strategic interventions.

Strategy and Competitive Intelligence Directorate

In this article:

Director of Strategy and Competitive Intelligence – Cat Leaver