Patrons

**Peter Lederer CBE**

Peter Lederer joined Gleneagles in 1984 as General Manager, becoming Managing Director in 1987 and Chair in 2007, before retiring in 2014. Previously he held a multitude of senior positions in multi-million enterprises with the Four Seasons hotel group and with Plaza Hotels. Prior to becoming a Patron of HIT Scotland, Peter was our Chair. He is committed to improving quality, educational standards and training opportunities within the hospitality and tourism industries and was also chairman of VisitScotland from 2001-2010.
Peter is a highly respected leader in the hospitality and tourism industry and has also been awarded the prestigious Tourism Catey Award and Hotelier of the Year. He was awarded an OBE for services to the industry and a CBE for services to Tourism in Scotland. He is also Chair, Saltire Foundation; a Director of Diageo Scotland and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

**Stephen Carter OBE**

Stephen Carter has enjoyed an illustrious 50-year career in hospitality, shaping some of Scotland’s most high-profile hotels, including Cameron House and The Old Course Hotel. A former trustee and Chair of HIT Scotland, he became a Patron in 2020, reflecting his long-standing commitment to developing people and strengthening the industry.
Widely respected for his leadership, Stephen is known for bringing the right people together, inspiring teams and guiding others to success. Many industry figures began their careers under his mentorship and continue to value his influence.
His impact has been recognised through several major honours: Catey Manager of the Year, the VisitScotland Silver Thistle Award and Fellowship of the Institute of Hospitality (FIH). Stephen was also awarded an OBE for services to the hospitality industry in 2007.

**Paddy Crerar CBE**

Paddy Crerar has been involved in the Scottish hospitality industry for more than 30 years. Principally a hotelier Paddy’s first major role was as MD of British Trust Hotels which after 7 years of growth he led to successful sale in 2005. The Crerar Hotel Group with Paddy as CEO was also formed in 2005 - this included Crerar Hotels and a specialist management and consultancy company Crerar Management which focused on recovering asset underperformance. The Crerar Hotel Group also owns and operates www.easybreaks.com, marketing hotel bedrooms for over 400 hotel clients. In March 2020 Paddy stood down as CEO of the company and took on the role of Chairman.
A Trustee of HIT Scotland since 2002 and Chair from April 2013 to May 2018, Paddy became a Patron in 2020. Paddy is a strong supporter of the hospitality industry with past and present roles including being a Director of Visit Scotland, Thistle Award steering group and judge and Chair of The Crerar Trust, a charity set up to distribute funds to good causes connected to the communities Crerar hotels operate within.
In addition to the hospitality industry Paddy holds a number of non-executive positions including Highlands and Islands Enterprise which is a board he is particularly honoured to serve as his family and roots are from Oban and the West Highlands. He, his wife Sheila and their three children live in East Lothian where they farm pedigree cattle, lambs and cereals.

Trustees

**Alan Halliday,**
**FanFare Restaurants Chair**

Alan became Chair of HIT Scotland in June 2024, after being Vice Chair since March 2019.
As a successful businessman, Alan has operated as Regional Director - Scotland of Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd, Divisional Director at Brakes and now running his own business as a McDonald’s Franchisee.
Alan Halliday joined HIT in 2001 as a Trustee. He provides HIT Scotland with a unique perspective in addition to his incredible support and insight into our Trust.
Alan’s involvement has centred around supporting our Chair, Chief Executive and fellow Trustees with his unrivalled expertise in sales, marketing and business development.
Alan works with our Chief Executive specifically providing support, insight and advice on Sponsorship in addition to his general Trustee duties.

**Stephen Buchanan,**
**Buzzworks**

Stephen’s first taste of the hospitality industry came after university when he moved home and secured a job in the bar of The Piersland House Hotel in Troon. He quickly advanced to the position of bar manager and, keen to make a career in the industry, Stephen undertook an HNC in Hospitality Management.
While attending college in Glasgow, Stephen joined Jamie’s Italian. Thanks to the company’s ethos of believing in and empowering their staff, Stephen’s passion for the industry was sparked. He moved to London with the company at the age of 19 and rose through the ranks to become a general manager overseeing various locations across the UK, including an opening in Singapore. After his tenure at Jamie's, Stephen spent two years as an Operations Manager at G1 before joining Buzzworks in 2018 as Operations Manager for the East Coast. He now heads up all the company’s new openings as Operations Manager and continues to support the emerging talent of the industry.
His journey from grassroots to managerial roles, spanning nationally and internationally, has developed his passion for the industry's diversity and skill-building potential. His ambition to contribute to the industry's development led to Stephen being invited to join the HIT Futures Group and subsequently becoming a trustee of the charity in 2023.

**Paul Jennings,**
**Aberdein Considine**

Paul became a Trustee in 2020.
Paul, a partner in and owner of Aberdein Considine, is originally from Aberdeen and started early in the catering industry with holiday jobs of “tattie picking” and then packing and despatching food containers to oil rigs in the summer. There followed a succession of summer jobs in hospitality (waiter, cleaner, barman, bouncer – sometimes all at once!) at The Malacca Hotel and then No. 10 in Aberdeen.
He is now Head of Commercial Real Estate at Aberdein Considine, having joined in 2014 to open the firm’s legal office in Glasgow. Paul’s team operate across the whole of Scotland and has a wealth of experience in the hospitality and leisure industries, acting for a wide variety of landlords, operators and funders.
Paul is also a founder member of the Commercial Real Estate Lawyer’s Association in London, an active member of the Institute of Directors and committee member of The Lord’s Taverners in Scotland. He is ranked as a Leading Individual by both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.
For his sins he remains a season ticket holder at Pittodrie!

**Fergus Chambers,**
**Founding Trustee + Honorary Secretary**

Fergus Chambers, an original founding Trustee of HIT, is an exceptional member of our team with a multitude of accolades including; a Catey, Cost Sector Education Award, a CIS Lifetime Excellence Award and he received a Lifetime Achievement presentation in the Educatering Awards.
He spent most of his working life in the Public Sector as Executive Director of Glasgow City Council and as Managing Director of Cordia LLP, remaining active in semi-retirement as Chairman of Braehead Foods Ltd until September 2023.
We are delighted to say he has continued with HIT as Honorary Secretary (since 1994).
Fergus was the winner of the HIT Industry Award in 2016.

**Claire Gamble,**
**Dakota Hotels**

Claire Gamble is the Executive Director of Sales at Dakota Hotels, a luxury lifestyle brand known for its style and exceptional service. Here, Claire leads specialised markets, including Entertainment, Production, and luxury clients, ensuring first-class experiences for high-profile guests.
With a degree in Hospitality Management, Claire has built an impressive career with luxury brands including Kimpton, IHG, Malmaison, and Monaco’s Columbus Hotel, refining her expertise in high-end hospitality, client relations, and business development. Recognised among the Top 100 Women in Tourism, she is a passionate industry advocate and a dedicated mentor, shaping future hospitality leaders.
Claire has been involved in HIT Scotland for some time, serving first as a POETS Lunch committee member and later as Co-chair, driving the fundraising success. She also plays a key role in The White Lily Fund, helping raise funds for cancer diagnosis and treatment in the West of Scotland.

**Marina Huggett,**
**Achnagairn Estate**

Marina is a committed and passionate hospitality professional. She has run her own business, the Tourism Excellence Consultancy, for the past 20 years and is totally committed to quality and excellence and to the development of people who are the lifeblood of our industry. She is a Director of the Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards, and Executive Board Director of the Scottish Tourism Alliance as well as sitting on the Board of Visit Inverness Loch Ness. She is Chairperson of the Achnagairn Estate, an events venue near Inverness which has 62 bedrooms, Ballroom and a Restaurant Table Manors on the Estate. Highland Business Women’s Club awarded Marina their Ambassador Award in 2010.

**Richard Mayne,**
Vice-Chair

Richard Mayne started his hospitality career at Goodwood Hotel in 1999. Since then, he has gone on to occupy several senior positions at some of Scotland’s top hotels including Macdonald Hotels & Resorts, TheWesterwood Hotel, and Millennium Hotel Glasgow.
Now the Cluster General Manager at Radisson Blu Hotel & Radisson Collection in Edinburgh, a role he has held since July 2015, Richard isrecognised for his extensive knowledge of hotel operations and strategic
approach to hotel management.
Richard is passionate about supporting the next generation of hospitality
talent and has helped to train many staff throughout his career.

**James McGuire,**
**Coca-Cola Europacific Partners**

James was one of the founding members of the HIT Futures Group and has been involved with the charity for 8 years. Starting his career in Finance with Edrington UK (Formerly Maxxium), James has worked in a variety of sales roles at Bacardi Martini and is now a senior manager at Coca Cola Europacific Partners - in their new Alcohol RTD team.
James is also a Director for the Benevolent Society of the Licensed Trade in Scotland and volunteers his time to several charities across hospitality and retail.

Amy Lightbody,

Dog Digital

From boutique hotels and luxury hotel groups to established and up-and-coming alcohol brands, Amy is passionate about helping brands propel their presence in all avenues of the marketing landscape.

She started her career with hotel marketing agency Click2Convert back in 2019. With a niche focusing on hospitality and leisure, she was instantly exposed to a range of brands across the industry. From marketing executive to account manager, her passion in her career developed into driving and coordinating first-class digital marketing strategies.

More recently, she has moved into a new role as Digital Producer for Dog Digital, a full-circle creative, marketing and technical agency in Glasgow. Continuing with her love for hospitality, she has moved from hotels to alcohol brands. Working closely with some of the industry’s most innovative brands, including Loch Lomond Group, Isle of Harris Distillery and Heineken, her role is to strategise, coordinate and deliver creative, marketing and technical campaigns.

As a supplier to the industry, she has worked closely with HIT Scotland over the last few years. Starting with marketing consultancy and support in her previous role, to becoming part of the Futures Group at the end of 2021, and a trustee in 2023.