Our Board

The Edinburgh Leisure board consists of:

• Malcolm Reid (Chair) - Malcolm was appointed to the Board as Chair in September 2024. He has experience working in the NHS and civil service, having served as the health adviser to two Prime Ministers in 10 Downing Street and, during the pandemic, as the Director of Strategy for the Covid-19 vaccine programme in England. He now works for BioNTech (makers of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine) as a senior director leading their partnerships with the NHS to develop new cancer vaccines. Previously, Malcolm served for six years as Chair of Governors of London East Alternative Provision, a multi-site school for children who cannot attend mainstream education. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge; postgraduate degrees in Economics from the University of London and Public Administration from Georgetown University, Washington DC; and has also been a Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge.Malcolm grew up in Edinburgh and has recently returned here with his wife and dog. He is a keen road and trail runner and is an enthusiastic (but mediocre) player of many sports including recently tennis, padel and football.
  
  
• Jackie Moran (Vice-Chair)  - Jackie Moran was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Edinburgh Leisure Board in January 2021.  She has served on the board since 2014 and chairs the Edinburgh Leisure Audit and Risk Committee.  Jackie has spent much of her career in financial services, retiring recently from Standard Life where she was an Operations Director.  She has a breadth of experience in customer service, operations and risk management.  In addition to her operational role, Jackie sponsored an employee network established to drive gender diversity.  She continues to be a strong advocate in this area.  Jackie graduated from Edinburgh University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business Studies and subsequently completed a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). 
  
  
• John Taylor - John has lived and studied in Edinburgh for many years having graduated from Edinburgh University with a MA(Hons). He has a commercial background gained from working in a retail environment. More recently he has specialised his career in Human Resources and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He joined Apple in 2007 and is currently Head of Talent, supporting the business across the UK and the Nordics. John joined the Edinburgh Leisure Board in May 2017. In his spare time, he has a keen interest in keeping fit by running, using our gym facilities, and playing squash. He lives with his wife in Edinburgh and they have a young daughter who is starting school this year.

• Gavin Munn – A Chartered Surveyor for over 30 years,  Gavin co-founded and runs a commercial property investment management business based in Edinburgh and operating across the UK. Starting his career in London, Gavin has held senior positions in Institutional Fund Management and more recently a large UK Development Company during which time he was responsible for developing over a million square feet of retail, office and leisure space predominantly in Scotland.Gavin has a Land Economy degree from Aberdeen University and is member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Along with his sports mad family Gavin enjoys most outdoor pursuits and triathlon in particular having represented the GB Age Group Team at both the European and World Championships. He is also a Level 2 British Triathlon coach at local club, Edinburgh#3 Triathlon, coaching athletes of all ages and abilities.
  
  
• Denis Dixon - Born and raised in Irvine Ayrshire, Denis came to Edinburgh in 1969 to study Business, Marketing and Accountancy at Edinburgh College of Commerce; now Napier University. He then went on to work at White Horse Whisky Ltd in Glasgow and subsequently in the role of financial accountant at Amoco UK Ltd; an oil company in London. Denis returned to Scotland in 1982 and took up a career in marketing, communications and printing. In 1986, he set up his own marketing company, Creative Business Services, which he ran until 1994 when he was offered a role in marketing in Bergen, Norway, where he met his wife Pamela. On return to Scotland in 2000 Denis managed a Fine Art print distribution company until 2015. By then his political career had taken hold and since 2012 he has been a City of Edinburgh Councillor for the Sighthill/Gorgie ward. He is currently Convener of the South West Locality and Lead Councillor on Income Maximisation. 
  
  
• Lee Ann Panglea - Lee Ann is Head of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Lee Ann’s role involves leading a team and working closely with an engaged volunteer network across Scotland and NI to encourage influencers in the world of work to value people and development as key to better work and working lives. With over 20 years’ commercial experience across the consumer, retail and professional services sectors throughout the UK, Lee Ann brings significant personal experience of the world of work to her current role and believes passionately in the importance of people and development, and employee voice. Lee Ann is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and after several years working in England, returned to Scotland in 2004. She now lives in Edinburgh with her husband and two children. 
  
  
• Gosia (Malgorzata) Paterson - Gosia spent over 10 years, working in Marketing and Communications roles for companies such as L’Oréal and Unilever. Five years ago, she joined Sainsbury’s Bank specializing in Marketing Technology and leading a number of transformational projects delivering improvement in customer engagement by the use of data science and analytics. Additionally, Gosia is actively engaged in driving the Bank’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and sustainability agenda. Gosia graduated from Edinburgh Napier University (BA in Business Management) and Wroclaw University of Economics (MA in International Relations). She lives in Edinburgh and is a keen swimmer.
  
  
• John Evans - John was born into a family of sports fanatics and nothing has changed! John admits to mediocrity (at best) in many sports ranging from football and rugby through to squash, golf and sailing. He is rugby referee and coach and team manager for an Under 18s team in North Edinburgh.John’s work CV includes marketing, HR, Corporate Services and CEO roles across a range of sectors and industries. John currently works with South of Scotland Enterprise with whom he is the Director of Transformation and Development and has a strong focus on wellbeing and mental health matters.John is also a board member and trustee of The Leith Trust and Leith Community Fund and the lead for ‘Leith Gives’. John was a founder of sports charity ‘Hearts and Balls’. John lives in Leith and has two sons.
  
  
• Rachel Ducker - Rachel has been the Director of Finance and ICT at Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland since March 2020. She has previously managed the capital budget in the Estates department at the University of Edinburgh and before that was the financial accountant for Macmillan Cancer Support. She brings financial experience in the private, public and not for profit sector as well as experience in managing large property portfolios, both at Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and Edinburgh University. Originally from near Bristol, studied in Southampton and qualified as a Chartered accountant in London, Rachel moved to Edinburgh in 2015 with her husband to embrace a more active lifestyle (and be closer to the UK’s ski slopes). She has a passion for trail running, skiing, cycling and heading off for adventures in her campervan with her husband, young daughter and dog in tow.
  
  
• Alex Staniforth  - bio coming soon
  
  
• Sanne Dijkstra-Downie - Sanne is the Liberal Democrat Councillor for the Forth Ward, first elected in 2022. With over 15 years' experience in Higher Education advancement, she currently raises funds for climate and oceans projects and scholarships at the University of Edinburgh. Sanne moved to Edinburgh from the Netherlands as a student in 2002, and is an outspoken supporter of safe infrastructure for sustainable modes of travel, such as walking and cycling. She lives in North Edinburgh with her young family and has long been active in her local community, particularly advocating for local green spaces and coastal areas. She is the Scottish Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Net Zero.
  
  
• Christopher Cowdy - Christopher was born and raised on a farm in Northern Ireland before attending university in Bristol. After graduating in 1993 with an Honours Degree in Valuation and Estate Management he moved to Edinburgh where he worked as a Chartered Surveyor, first for a property investment and development company, then for international real estate advisor Knight Frank where he specialised in Commercial Property Investments and developments for 10 years before the financial crisis hit in 2007.  In 2010 he set up a business publishing local advertising magazines taking in both Edinburgh and Belfast.  He became involved with coaching at Boroughmuir Rugby Club and volunteered with Children’s Hearings where he sat as a Chairing Panel Member for over 9 years before having to step down in 2022 on election as a City Councillor for the Fountainbridge and Craiglockhart Ward.  Christopher is also Treasurer and a Trustee for the charitable Dirliebane Theatre Company aimed at children, young people and their families.
  
  
• Lezley Marion Cameron - Councillor Lezley Marion Cameron is the Labour and Cooperative Party Councillor for Liberton Gilmerton Ward and the Depute Lord Provost of The City of Edinburgh. An Arts Graduate of the University of Glasgow, Cllr Cameron did her postgraduate studies in HR and Business at the University of Strathclyde, the Open University, Edinburgh Napier University and Macquarie University. Cllr Cameron’s background is in HR, Economic Development, Local Government, Strategic Policy, and Events.  Cllr Cameron has run her own business, consulting to private and public sector clients, and has served as a Board Director and Trustee on company and charity Boards. From 1999 to 2003, Cllr Cameron was Edinburgh’s Convener of Economic Development with responsibility for European and International Affairs.  In July 2002 she was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant for The City of Edinburgh. Cllr Cameron has also lived in Australia where she worked in the supply chain and marketing divisions of a global logistics company; and did a management placement in the British Consulate in Sydney as part of her MBA studies. Returning to the Edinburgh, in 2017 Cllr Cameron was elected again to the City of Edinburgh Council and served as a Bailie and Small Business Champion.  She was re-elected last year and elected Depute Lord Provost by Council in June 2022. Cllr Cameron is Board Chair of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, a Trustee of the Inch Park Community Sports Club, and a Director of Edinburgh Leisure.  Cllr Cameron also sits on the Planning Committee, Culture and Communities Committee and Edinburgh Licensing Board. Cllr Cameron is a passionate advocate for the arts and culture, for sports, for equalities, and for the need for Edinburgh to become an accessible, inclusive city for all.
  
  
• Lorna Dorrie - Lorna is a Physiotherapist with experience in health, social care and health education. She had a non-traditional route to studying physiotherapy and first qualified as a Veterinary Nurse. Lorna graduated in 2005 with a BSc Hons in Physiotherapy from Robert Gordon University and has a PGCert in Person-Centred Practice. Further post graduate studies have focussed on practice-based learning in healthcare, quality improvement and evaluation of impact. Lorna’s current role as an educator with NHS Education for Scotland involves leading on the quality, governance and growth of capacity and capability of student placements for allied health professions in Scotland.Prior to this role Lorna held roles as physiotherapy service lead in NHS Borders and team lead for community physiotherapy in NHS Lothian. She has extensive clinical experience as a physiotherapist in acute and community settings in NHS Lothian, NHS Borders and privately with road cycling events. Lorna is passionate about health and social care and working with third sector and communities to enable people to live their best lives. Following her own journey into physiotherapy, she is also a strong advocate for widening access and opportunities to education and careers through non-traditional routes. Lorna grew up in Perthshire and loves the outdoors. She now lives in the Scottish Borders and loves cycling, trail running, hill walking and skiing. She loves an adventure and will have a go at mostly anything
  
  
• Stephanie-Ann Harris - Stephanie-Anne brings over 30 years of experience in the public and voluntary sectors, with expertise in areas such as sport, events, physical activity, and more recently, health and social care. She worked for Fife Council and then the City of Edinburgh Council and currently works part-time with Edinburgh Community Health Forum. Outside of work, Stephanie-Anne is a keen golfer and stays active through walking (with her Springer Spaniel) and fitness classes. Stephanie-Anne has been a member of the Love Music Community Choir for over a decade, loving the opportunity to rehearse and perform at the Usher Hall. Stephanie-Anne lives in Edinburgh, is married and has three grown up children. Her family life has always involved Edinburgh Leisure, whether it be sitting watching her children at their tennis lessons at Craiglockhart, playing there herself, swimming with her children at Warrender,  or joining Edinburgh Leisure to participate in fitness classes.