HISA announce James has been appointed their new CEO.

James was recently employed as the Interim director of membership engagement at the Exeter Guild of Students, where he supported the team through a major turnaround programme which in turn helped to bring stability and increased funding to the student union. Throughout his career, he has progressed through the student movement and has held staff roles at; Imperial College Union, Queen Mary SU and Nottingham Trent SU. During his studies at Sheffield College, he was also Student President.

James joins HISA at an exciting time in the Student Associations’ development and will work with the staff and officer team to implement HISA’s Strategic Plan to better support the students of the University of the Highlands and Islands.

He said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as chief executive of the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association and I’m looking forward to starting the role in March.

"I was blown away by the scale, impact and potential of the organisation along with the fantastic enthusiasm and talent of the staff and officer team.

“I’m passionate about the impact that students can have on their education, community and society as a whole, and see our goal as the Students’ Association as being the facilitator, supporter and enabler to that idea.

"Our Values of being student-driven, supportive, sustainable and inclusive are crucial to adding to your student experience whilst at the University of the Highlands and Islands and beyond.”

HISA President, Florence Jansen, said: “I am delighted for James to join our team as the new Chief Executive Officer of HISA and would like to welcome him warmly to our team.

"His skills make him the ideal leader for the next chapter HISA embarks on and I am very excited to see the growth of HISA under James’ leadership.

“I am very much looking forward to working with him. Our students need us now more than ever before and we will continue to play a vital role in our students’ experience.”

Todd Walker, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Highlands and Islands also welcomed James’ appointment commenting: "On behalf of our university partnership, I welcome the announcement by the President of the Highlands and Islands Students' Association, that Mr James Lindsay has been successfully appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer.

"We have the largest student population of any university establishment in Scotland, at almost 40,000 students spread throughout our various locations.

“Our close working relationship with HISA is absolutely vital to ensuring that we continue to deliver the best learning experience to both our students and our communities.

"I look forward to working collaboratively with Mr Lindsey and the HISA president, Flo Jansen, to continue to build and strengthen our partnership fit for our very exciting future that lies ahead."