Tourism and Environment Forum Activities

'Scotland's Green Tourism Scene'

Green Tourism Conference

Speaker Biographies

9.30am: Tom Brock, Chief Executive, Scottish Seabird Centre

Tom Brock was appointed to head the Scottish Seabird Centre in February 1999. The Scottish Seabird Centre was opened by the Prince of Wales in May 2000. Following opening, the Centre has embarked on a programme of continuous improvement. Its success has been recognised by the winning of numerous awards including Gold award for the Green Tourism Business Scheme, winner of Tourism and the Environment Scottish Thistle Award 2002, as well as receiving a Highly Commended from the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow 2001 Awards.

He has wealth of experience including a B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Zoology from Aberdeen University and postgraduate research at Glasgow University. A former Countryside Ranger, Tom also has 15 years of experience in waterside management, regeneration and tourism with British Waterways including managing the Stratford Upon Avon and Grand Union Canals.

During his time with British Waterways, Tom led a number of high profile projects including winning the Excellence on the Waterfront Award (The Waterfront Centre, Washington DC) for "Birmingham’s Waterfront", the First World Canals Conference (Birmingham) and the £8.5 million Regional Challenge canal improvement programme (English West Midlands).

Tom also played a key role in the development of the initial Millennium Link proposal to reopen the canals of Central Scotland.

In 1992 Tom won a prestigious Winston Churchill Fellowship to study water-based regeneration and tourism in the USA and Canada.

He is currently Chairman of the Tourism & Environment Forum and is a Board Member of the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions

More information: Scottish Seabird Centre

9.40am: Frank McAveety MSP, Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister.

Mr McAveety has specific responsibility for tourism, sport, culture and the arts, the built heritage, architecture, Historic Scotland and lottery. He is also MSP for Glasgow Shettleston.

He was a councillor for Glasgow District Council from 1988-95 and Glasgow City Council from 1995-99 and was the youngest ever leader of the council.

Born in Glasgow in 1962, Mr Frank McAveety obtained BA Joint Honours (English and History) at Strathclyde University in 1983. He also obtained a Post Graduate Secondary Teaching Certificate in 1984 from St Andrew's College of Education.

He was a secondary school teacher from 1984-98 in Glasgow and Renfrewshire. On the Council he was involved with the Arts and Culture Committee from 1992-97 where he was initially a Vice Convener then progressed to be Convener.

He was Council Leader from 1997-1999 during which time he pioneered the innovative and radical strategies for new investment in the city's schools and housing stock. He is a member of the EIS and the Transport and General Workers Union.

He was a Board Member of Glasgow Development Agency, Chair of Glasgow Alliance and Board Member of The Arches Theatre Company and Citizen's Theatre Company.

More information: Scottish Parliament

9.50am: Willie Macleod, Director of Industry Services, VIsitScotland

After graduating from the University of Strathclyde, Scottish Hotel School, spent seven years in the hotel industry in a variety of positions – sales and marketing, personnel, special projects and general management – with Forte plc and a number of independent companies. He then spent nine years at the Scottish Tourist Board – initially as one of the team of advisers in the tourism industry advisory service and, latterly, as development manager.

In 1985 joined the London-based tourism consultancy practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers as associate director working on a diverse portfolio of projects for international companies, public agencies, aid agencies and NGO's.

In 1990 returned to Scotland as regional director and director of the tourism consultancy team of SQW Limited, an independent, international economic development consultancy.

In September 2001 he joined VisitScotland as Director, Industry Services where his responsibilities include industry relations, project development and quality and standards.

More information: Scotexchange.net (tourism industry website)

10.00am: Pia Heidenmark-Cook, Director of Responsible Business, Rezidor SAS

Mrs Pia Heidenmark-Cook is a Swedish national. She has worked for Rezidor SAS Hospitality since 2001, and has established their programme for social and environmental affairs, called Responsible Business. This includes developing strategies, objectives, measurable indicators, tools, communication strategies and training material to be used by the RB co-ordinators in the chain’s 182 hotels. She is also the project manager for the Rezidor SAS Annual Report since 2002.

Before joining Rezidor SAS, she worked as an environmental consultant managing projects in the areas of environmental management systems, and environmental strategies, and before that, she was a researcher and lecturer at Lund University, Sweden.

Mrs Heidenmark-Cook holds both a Technical Licentiate degree and a M.Sc. in Environmental Management, from the University of Lund, Sweden, and a M.Sc. in International Business Administration and Economics from Uppsala University, Sweden.

More information: Rezidor SAS

11.10am: Ross Anderson, Eastlochhead Country House and Cottages

Ross is a qualified planner, chartered landscape architect and fellow of the tourism society. He was founding partner of the ASH Consulting  Group and also of EDP in southern Africa. He founded Ross Anderson Consulting in June 2001. He was closely involved in skiing developments at Cairngorm and Aonach Mor and prepared visitor management plans for Hadrians Wall, Avebury and Sterckfontein World Heritage Sites.

In 1996 he and his wife Janet bought an almost derelict East Lochhead Farm near Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire and began restoring it for B&B, self-catering cottages and small functions. They have developed the property into an award winning tourism business with the environment and sustainability the cornerstone of everything they have done. They are members of the Green Tourism Business Scheme and have Gold Awards for both B&B and Self-catering.

More information: East Lochhead Country House and Cottages

11.45am: Gregor Pennie, Envirowise

More information: Envirowise

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