Our Board of Trustees have an amazing mix of skills only equalled by their commitment to, and enthusiasm for, this unique and challenging long-term project.
Bob Last (Chair of the Board)
Bob is a widely known and highly respected creative leader, particularly in the fields of music and film. In a career spanning over 40 years, his expertise is recognised across the creative industries in Scotland and the UK.
His early entrepreneurial spirit in the music industry saw success as producer, designer and manager; celebrated recently in the book ‘Hungry Beat’, as part of the award-winning documentary ‘Big Gold Dream’ (2015) and also featuring in the ‘Rip It Up’ exhibition (2018, National Museum of Scotland). His success with maverick record label, Fast Product, propelled the Human League to the top of UK and USA charts and helped create a vibrant counter-culture, giving Scotland a cool and confident edge.
His wide-ranging experience includes, helping lay the early foundations of Creative Scotland; Chair of Cultural Enterprise Office (2002-2013); Chair of Edinburgh International Film Festival and Edinburgh’s Filmhouse (2012-2015); Co-Chair of Scottish Government Industry Advisory Group alongside Fiona Hyslop (2016-2020); and member of the short-lived Board overseeing the creation of Screen Scotland.
Bob is co-owner of Leith’s FirstStage Studios, the largest film studio in Scotland, with business partner Jason Connery. He has been at the forefront of championing Scotland’s burgeoning TV and film industry and is an Oscar nominated and BAFTA award winning film and TV producer with credits including ‘The Illusionist’ (Sylvain Chomet, 2010), featured in Indiewire as a top 100 film of the decade; and ‘She Will’ (Charlotte Colbert, 2021).
Bob brings his breadth of building knowledge as well as his extensive cultural and substantial business start-up and capital project experience to Leith Theatre, at a pivotal time in the organisation’s development.
Rachel Athey
RACHEL HAS WORKED ACROSS A NUMBER OF SECTORS, SPECIALISING IN THE STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT OF COMMERCIAL INCOME TO SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AMBITIONS. CURRENTLY HEAD OF COMMERCIAL SERVICES FOR QMU, IN THE PAST SHE HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR DELIVERING A £30M BUDGET FOR MARIE CURIE CANCER CARE AND DEVELOPING A COMMERCIAL STRATEGY FOR SCOTLAND FOOD & DRINK TO STRENGTHEN ITS FINANCIAL RESILIENCE. SHE STARTED HER ARTS CAREER AS VENUE & PERFORMERS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE. AS A LEITHER SINCE 1996, SHE IS COMMITTED TO PROTECTING LEITH THEATRE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
Helen Duncan
HELEN IS CO-OWNER AND DIRECTOR OF SCOTINFORM, A RESEARCH AGENCY BASED IN EDINBURGH AND SPECIALISING IN THE CULTURE AND NONPROFIT SECTORS. SHE HOLDS A FIRST CLASS (HONS) BACHELOR OF COMMERCE DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH AND THE MRS ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN MARKET AND SOCIAL RESEARCH. HELEN LIVES LOCALLY AND IS THE CHAIR OF THE PARENT COUNCIL AT THE LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL.
Harry Linklater
HARRY HAS WORKED IN FINANCIAL DEAL ADVISORY ROLES WITHIN THE SCOTTISH MARKET FOR OVER 20 YEARS, ACTING AS ADVISOR, RETAINED BOARD CONSULTANT AND LATTERLY ADOPTING A DUAL ROLE WITH CLIENT PORTFOLIO RESPONSIBILITIES. HE HAS ADVISED PUBLIC SECTOR BODIES, COMPANIES AND MANAGEMENT ACROSS A RANGE OF SECTORS AND SCALE OF BUSINESS, FROM EARLY-STAGE AND GRANT REVIEW, DUE DILIGENCE TO ASSISTING EXPANSION. WITH THIS BACKGROUND, HARRY ASSISTS THE BOARD AND EXECUTIVE TEAM ON FINANCIAL AND TREASURY ASPECTS, AND AS A LOCAL, HAS A KEEN INTEREST IN GIGS AND PERFORMANCES AT THE VENUE.
Joe Tree
JOE IS A BAFTA AWARD-WINNING DESIGNER WITH TWO STARTUPS UNDER HIS BELT AND A RARE MIX OF CREATIVE, TECH AND COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE. IN 1995 HE COFOUNDED ROCKET VISUALS, A DIGITAL AGENCY HEADQUARTERED IN LEITH. FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, HE LAUNCHED THE PHOTO-JOURNALLING PLATFORM BLIPFOTO, WHICH BY 2015 HAD GROWN INTO A WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON HOME TO 5 MILLION DAYS OF HUMAN LIFE. HE NOW LEADS THE TECH ACCELERATOR FOR THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT’S GROUND-BREAKING CIVTECH PROGRAMME AND WORKS AS AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT HELPING OTHER STARTUPS WITH THEIR PRODUCTS, BRANDING, STRATEGY AND INVESTMENT.
Mark Gorman
Mark is Strategy Director at Dentsu Creative, the fifth biggest agency group in the world. Previously Mark was CEO of Leith based agency Citigate Smarts after running his own advertising agency, 1576 Advertising, and before that was Group Account director at The Leith Agency. He has chaired Creative Edinburgh for nine years and sat on the Royal Lyceum Theatre’s board for eight. His love of theatre and music is lifelong and has included working with B2 Productions at The Leith Theatre itself.
Jane Ferguson
Jane is Director of Audiences and Support with the National Trust for Scotland, responsible for building reputation, reach and supporter revenue. Previously, she played a key role in the creation of V&A Dundee developing its audience, delivering its public launch and devising a major festival to mark its opening. She led significant growth in audiences across a decade of change and capital investment at National Museums Scotland. A Leither for over 20 years, Jane is passionate about finding ways to open up Leith Theatre to the widest public audience.
Jason Dyer