Airports crippled but vote of confidence for directors

Jenny Gilruth declined the option of an "open competition".

The SNP Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth, refuses to meet the unions – but she has found time to quietly re-appoint two of HIAL’s long- range board members.

None of the HIAL board’s non-executive members, appointed by Scottish Government Ministers, lives in the Highlands or Islands.

Now two of the directors, Christopher Holliday and Isabel Todenhaefer, have been re-appointed for a further four years without any opportunity for people in the Highlands and Islands or elsewhere to compete for the positions.

Mr Holliday is described as having a particular interest in “regional air services that provide vital transport links for remote communities”. He appears to live in Leeds and states his occupation as “company director”.

Ms Todenhoefer is “a successful entrepreneur”, according to the Scottish Government, who worked for Lufthansa until 2017. She is now, according to her LinkedIn profile, “co-founder and chief financial officer of Everge Financing in Madrid” which runs a “crowdfunding platform for real estate projects in Spain”.

Asked by the Gazette about the process which led to these re-appointments, a Scottish Government spokesperson replied: “The board members were re-appointed, as you’ve noted, so there were no vacancies to advertise”.

However, the implication that the re-appointments were automatic is untrue. A Minister “may” re-appoint a retiring board member but must decide whether or not to seek a “diversity” of candidates through “open competition”.

The Gazette asked the Ethical Standards Commission for Scotland which regulates public appointments for clarification. They referred us to Section F of the Code of Practice which says: “Scottish Ministers will balance the continuity provided by reappointment with the opportunity to increase the diverse range of relevant skills, knowledge, experience, including lived experience, values and other attributes on a board by making a new appointment through open competition”.

As well as presiding over a prolonged industrial dispute which has this week crippled island services, the HIAL board was widely criticised for failing to rein in the chief executive, Inglis Lyon, as he pursued Air Traffic Control centralisation plans which were eventually abandoned.

MEANWHILE, the business interests of the HIAL chair, Edinburgh lawyer Lorna Jack, now embrace Stornoway, which should help her find it on the map. A board meeting of Dundee Airport Limited, a sister company of HIAL, last October shows under “declarations of interest” that Ms Jack “will become Chair of the private sector group Opelus Financial”.

Describing itself as a “network of financial and operational solutions”, Opelus Financial has acquired Nicolson Accountancy which had its origins in Stornoway. Founded by Angus and Sue Nicolson more than 20 years ago, Nicolson Accountancy has offices in Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Stornoway.

Opelus announced the appointment of Ms Jack drawing attention to the fact that she is “currently chairman of HIAL, vice chair of Scottish Funding Council and honorary consul for the Netherlands in Scotland”.