Strategy and Competitive Intelligence Directorate

Leading on identifying and prioritising opportunities for sustainable economic growth, enhancing the profile of the visitor economy and VisitScotland’s role.

Leading on identifying and prioritising opportunities for sustainable economic growth and enhancing the profile of the visitor economy and VisitScotland’s role.

The Strategy and Competitive Intelligence Directorate is responsible for providing a holistic view of the global travel and events environment through a comprehensive set of insights, identifying and prioritising opportunities for sustainable economic growth.

The directorate is also responsible for the organisation’s corporate brand and storytelling, managing the Corporate Affairs function and the Creative Studio.

These departments work to enhance the profile of the visitor economy across a broad range of stakeholders and showcase our role in growing its value to Scotland.

Key areas of focus are:

corporate brand and reputation
visitor economy profile
strategic stakeholder engagement and international partnerships
business planning and prioritisation
competitive intelligence and horizon scanning
consumer, market, and industry trends
data analysis and forecasting
capability building

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

Before joining the organisation, Cat was the inaugural Director of Brand Scotland, where she led a cross-agency initiative to enhance Scotland’s global profile.

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

Our Corporate Affairs department is led by Carolyn Churchill. The department:

manages and protects VisitScotland's reputation
delivers effective communications to engage and inform stakeholder groups of our activity and the importance of the visitor economy to Scotland’s economic growth
works with a wide range of groups, including the media, Scottish Government, and the tourism and events industry
engages with staff to support them to be Scottish tourism ambassadors
leads on a programme of CEO and executive engagement, increasing visibility of our leadership and understanding of our vision
liaises with government to understand and inform policy and regulation developments relevant to the sector
delivers flagship events for VisitScotland and the industry, including VisitScotland Connect and the Scottish Thistle Awards programme

Creative Studio

Madeleine Macaulay-Stuart, Head of Creative, oversees the Creative Studio, which leads and supports the development of creative assets and systems in collaboration with teams across the organisation.

Alan Kittle is currently overseeing the department whilst Madeleine is on maternity leave.

The department is responsible for:

developing and maintaining brand guidelines and governance frameworks to ensure consistent application of the VisitScotland and Scotland destination brand
providing creative direction for campaigns, communications, events, and marketing activity
designing and evolving brand and design systems
producing compelling video and photography content that brings Scotland's stories, places, and experiences to life
delivering print, illustration, and digital design services that support organisational priorities and audience engagement
creating creative assets and visual content that strengthen brand recognition, reputation, and impact across domestic and international markets
supporting colleagues and partners to apply brand standards effectively and deliver a consistent audience experience
ensuring all creative outputs reflect our brand values, strategic objectives, and commitment to showcasing Scotland as a world-class destination

Data and Insights

The Data and Insights department is led by John Quinn. It provides strategic insight, research, analysis, and evaluation to guide organisational decision-making and support the growth of Scotland's visitor economy.

The department helps shape the future of the visitor economy through evidence-based thinking, intelligence, and analysis. By challenging assumptions, identifying opportunities and providing robust insight, it supports informed decision-making across the organisation.

It is responsible for:

providing strategic insight and market intelligence to inform organisational priorities and decision-making
delivering research, analytics, economic assessment, and competitive intelligence to identify opportunities for growth
translating visitor, market, and industry intelligence into actionable recommendations for colleagues, partners, industry, and government
leading corporate planning, strategic development, and sustainable growth initiatives in support of Scotland Outlook 2030
developing national, sector, and place-based strategies that strengthen Scotland's visitor economy
building the evidence base to measure impact, demonstrate value, and support future investment decisions
establishing evaluation frameworks and reporting organisational contribution to national and corporate priorities
providing insight, knowledge, and strategic advice to partners across the visitor economy to support long-term success

Strategy and Competitive Intelligence Directorate

In this article:

Director of Strategy and Competitive Intelligence – Cat Leaver