PATHWAYS Forward, launched in September following the publication of the Scottish Government-commissioned Pathways: A New Approach For Women in Entrepreneurship report in February 2023, has appointed an Advisory Group to work alongside Pathways Forward Chair, Ana Stewart to amplify and progress the recommendations outlined in the Stewart Report.
Carolyn Jameson, Professor Eleanor Shaw OBE, and Jo Forster, join the Advisory Board while Darina Garland, and Mark Logan OBE have been appointed as Advisors, together making up the Advisory Group, with Ana Stewart commenting: “So many individuals have supported us along the way, and continue to support our efforts, but we also wanted to formalise an advisory group to bring even more focus to the very considerable job in hand to remove barriers for women starting and leading businesses in Scotland.”
Carolyn Jameson is experienced at scaling businesses, having held roles including Chief Trust and Consumer Officer at Trustpilot, Head of International M&A and Corporate Development at Ctrip, and Chief Legal Officer at Skyscanner. She is on the Boards of Ten Lifestyle Group plc and the Scottish National Investment Bank, and sits on the Investment Advisory Committee for venture capital firm Scottish Equity Partners (SEP).
Professor Eleanor Shaw OBE is Dean and Head of the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School, was previously an Associate Principal at the University of Strathclyde, and is one of Scotland’s leading experts in entrepreneurship strategy. Professor Shaw also holds board positions with the Chartered Association of Business Schools, the Small Business Charter, and the Scaleup Institute.
A longstanding senior marketing and communications executive, Jo Forster is the Industry Lead for the Rose Review, the independent review originally commissioned by the UK Government in 2018 to report on female entrepreneurship in the UK. Forster works with both the public and private sector across the UK ecosystem to remove barriers for female entrepreneurship.
Darina Garland is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Ooni, the world’s biggest pizza oven company. Darina started her career at the Leith Agency in Edinburgh before setting up her first company Suklaa, running projects and events for clients such as the Royal Opera House, TEDx, NESTA, and the Institute of Education. She is also the Co-founder of global education festival Oppi.
Mark Logan OBE, who co-authored the Pathways report with Ana Stewart, is the Scottish Government’s chief entrepreneurial adviser, and was a director at Cisco before joining Skyscanner as Chief Operating Officer in 2012. Logan is a Professor at the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science, and advises a number of startups and scaleup companies in Scotland.
Ana Stewart added: “I’m delighted to have Carolyn, Eleanor, Jo, Darina and Mark on board. Their combined expertise will be invaluable in informing our strategy going forward. While tangible progress has been made , equally there is still so much more work to do. We are already developing a number of initiatives, which we will further formalise in the coming weeks and months, one of which will enable companies from across the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem to sign-up to the principles underpinning Pathways through action-led commitments. So, some exciting news to come.”
In October , the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary Neil Gray announced £2.9 million of funding for entrepreneurs including women and other priority groups split between two funds – with 42 recipients sharing £1.6 million through the Ecosystem Fund, and 20 projects receiving £1.3 million through a new Pre-Start Pathways Fund. The establishment of a network of pop-up ‘pre-start’ centres across Scotland, a key recommendation of the Stewart Report, is aimed at making it easier for women to access entrepreneurial pathways.
