Independent Customer Group - Members
Members:
Agnes Robson, Edinburgh. Chair of the Group
Agnes was a member of the Customer Forum since its inception, became Vice Chair in 2019 and Chair in 2020. She also served as Chair of the Interim Customer Group.
Agnes is a former senior civil servant with extensive experience in the public sector particularly in the fields of energy, health and urban policy. As Head of the Corporate Services Department, she was a member of the (then) Scottish Executive’s main management board. She is a volunteer adviser with Citizens Advice and a former non- executive director and Chair of Citizens Advice Scotland. She has also held non-executive Directorships on the Scottish Health Council and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; and is currently Vice Chair of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Sue Walker, Braemar
Sue’s background is in water and environmental management. She worked for almost 20 years in the water industry in North West England for a public water authority, privatised water company and environmental regulator.
On moving to Braemar, she became a Board Member of North of Scotland Water Authority and held a range of non-executive positions including as a Board Member of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. She was a Member of Waterwatch Scotland and the previous Customer Forums.
Sue is currently a Member of the Boundary Commission for Scotland.
Heather Dickson, Glasgow
Heather’s work history has consisted of senior leadership and management roles in a range of social enterprise, non-profit, and public sector organisations. As well as stakeholder management and European funding roles, her non-profit and social enterprise roles have been with organisations that focused on improving mental health and wellbeing; supporting victims of crime; and community engagement / capacity building.
For the past 25 years she has listened to and engaged with clients, customers, and communities, striving to improve access to services.
Gordon Matheson CBE, Glasgow
Gordon Matheson CBE was the Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau during the acclaimed 2014 Commonwealth Games. He is currently Head of Scottish Affairs for the General Dental Council and previously managed the policy, communications, and government relations functions in Scotland for Cancer Research UK and RNIB.
Gordon is a graduate of Glasgow and Strathclyde universities, a chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and in 2016 was appointed visiting professor in Strathclyde university’s Institute for Future Cities. He has extensive committee and non-executive board experience.
Fergus Watson, Gleneagles
Fergus’s career has taken him from Scotland to the Midlands in England and back again, working within management in the Industrial and Food and Drink Sectors.
On returning to Scotland, Fergus has worked in a number of business development roles with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Business Gateway network, and more recently has deployed his management and business development skills as a self-employed consultant and Director of Café Sia, a growing hospitality business on Skye.
Fergus has a passion for Scotland and the tourism industry working with tourism businesses supporting their growth and development.
Lyndsey Stainton, Dunblane
Lyndsey works for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Distribution business who own and operate two licensed electricity distribution networks in the north of Scotland and central southern England to deliver power to over 3.8 million homes and businesses.
Having spent over 20 years in the electricity industry, Lyndsey has a strong background in a range of roles across energy trading, retail marketing and networks. Lyndsey currently leads the Stakeholder Engagement function and has a passion for delivering high quality stakeholder and consumer engagements, ensuring stakeholders voices are heard and acted upon.
Lesley Halliday, Auchterarder
Lesley is a qualified solicitor and has worked in utilities regulation for over 15 years.
Lesley was previously Head of Regulation at a FTSE 100 energy company and in that role gained a wealth of experience in interacting with regulators, government bodies, and industry bodies. Lesley has a particular interest in consumer issues within regulated industries and has previously spent much of her career advising on regulatory frameworks associated with service delivery to customers.
Lesley is currently on a career break to focus time on family, but also currently sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s Complaints and Oversight Committee and is also a Member of the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel.
David MacLeod, Glasgow
David is a Partner with Dram Communications. Established in 2008, Dram Communications is based in Scotland and specialises in working with organisations to achieve corporate communications and public affairs objectives.
With over 15 years experience, David works with clients across a range of sectors to develop and deliver communications and engagement programmes and to support research and policy activity. David is passionate about the role of data and research in shaping thinking, developing evidence and creating opportunities. David is an economics graduate from the University of Strathclyde.
Barry Matheson, Glasgow
Barry worked for over 30 years as an executive in the John Lewis Partnership, the UK’s largest employee-owned organisation. His background in customer experience, employee engagement, developing teams and strategic delivery was developed across a wide portfolio of leadership roles.
In 2020 Barry became a freelance leadership consultant and executive coach working across multiple sectors. He is currently a non-executive member of the Executive Advisory Body at Social Security Scotland and a Board member at Hillcrest Homes in Dundee.
