Ingliston’s Royal Highland Centre, Scotland’s largest indoor and outdoor events venue, has been widening its cultural role in recent years – and with that new prominence comes a responsibility to ‘think bigger, act smarter and deliver more’.
To that end, Highland Centre Ltd has just bolstered its top team, appointing four new non-executive directors with heavyweight commercial events experience, explicitly recruited to deliver on the venue’s ambitious growth plans.
They are:
- Roger Hooker – described as an experienced leader across major international events and venue operations, Hooker has worked as the global event delivery director for the Formula E World Championship; venue manager for Wembley Stadium; cluster manager for out of London for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012; and head of event management at Ascot Racecourse Ltd;
- David Laing – previously head of arts, music and cultural venues for Glasgow Life, responsible for multiple nationally and internationally significant event venues, concert halls and festivals; general manager for the O2 Academy in Glasgow; and trustee for the LIVE Trust, which oversees a multi-million pound fund created by a voluntary £1 per ticket levy on arena and stadium shows over 5000 capacity;
- Graeme Davies – managing director of UXL Marketing & Consulting Ltd, which advises various businesses on marketing and communication strategies, often sitting on the Board and managing in-house or agency marketing functions;
- Robin Miller – a Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre veteran, who from an initial position in the market research department progressed to exhibition sales, then returned as sales manager, eventually being promoted to head of Conference Sales.
As part of the Royal Highland Centre’s management shake-up, its director of venue, Mark Currie – himself a veteran of DF Concert’s T in the Park festival – has now been appointed as managing director of HCL.
Currie said: “Being able to welcome such a high-calibre group of non-executive directors to our board is a huge step forward for us as a venue as we set our sights to expand the venue’s offer and continue our reputation as one of Scotland’s most versatile music and events venues.
“Together, Roger, David, Graeme and Robin bring unparalleled experience in national events, along with strategic insight that is second to none. Their advice and guidance will be instrumental as we accelerate our growth plans and brand positioning.”
The Royal Highland Centre already has a busy 2026 planned – as well as its foundational event, June’s Royal Highland Show, the site will be staging headline gigs by Biffy Clyro, Lorde, Florence and the Machine, The Cure, The Prodigy and Deftones as part of Edinburgh’s Summer Sessions.
The venue will also be hosting Heather on the Hill, a new festival created by Nathan Evans & The Saint Phnx Band.
