Speaker Bios

Before becoming Head in June 2019, Helen was Deputy Head at Fettes College for the previous 12 years and a Teacher of Geography at Fettes since 1996. Before this, she gained her Geography degree from Jesus College Cambridge, where she rowed for the University and her College, taught EFL in Portugal post-degree and then took up her first teaching post at Clifton College where she was the first female assistant in a boys’ house and Acting Head of Department.

At Fettes Helen has enjoyed immersing herself fully into the life of the community; teaching throughout the school, coaching numerous sports and tutoring in the boarding houses. Helen helped her husband run one of the boys’ boarding houses for six very happy and busy years before taking up the post of Deputy Head where she was responsible for the day-to-day management of the school and successfully led the pastoral care team. Helen is committed to ensuring the students will leave Fettes knowing themselves, looking out for others, capable of thinking critically and ready to make a positive mark on their rapidly changing world.

Victoria

Teacher / Head of Sixth Form, Fettes College

Victoria Chandler graduated with a degree in English Literature and went on to complete a Master's in Creative and Critical Writing. During her time at university, she worked for Zara and went on to work for their multinational parent company, Inditex, as part of the buying and trend forecasting department. Rediscovering her passion for English, she trained as a teacher and completed her PGCSE in English and Drama at the University of Bristol. She has worked at Fettes College for the past nine years and is currently the Head of Sixth Form.

and Careers

Caroline graduated with a Ba Hons in German and English from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 1995 and a PGCE in Modern Languages from the University of Birmingham the following year. She began her career as a secondary school teacher in Worcestershire. Caroline worked in various teaching roles in the UK and Germany prior to joining Fettes in 2006. In her current role, teaching languages, tutoring in a boarding house and advising Fettesians regarding their university applications and career direction, she also chairs the HMC UCAS group, sits on the UCAS Scottish Policy committee and is a member of the Fettes Academic Leadership team

Duncan Keith, Co-founder of Days

I graduated from Fettes in 2006 and, thinking back to my time, my memories quickly go to the amazing friendships I built and enjoyment I had participating in a myriad of different elements of school life. Everything was available at our doorstep and I can't think of another time in my life when I've had the same kind of opportunities on a daily basis than while at school. After school I went straight to The University of Bath and gained a BSc in Politics with Economics, graduating in 2009. After graduating I joined Genius Gluten Free, we created the market for fresh gluten free bakery products and I launched the brand throughout Europe and the US. After 6 years at Genius I moved to London and joined PROPERCORN where I stayed for 4 years, we became the UK's largest healthy snack brand and I loved the whole experience. Today, I am the co-founder of Days - We make 0.0% beers and are on a journey to become the UK's next great beer business. I live in Battersea, London with my wife, Helen. Outside of work I'm fortunate to still see lots of school friends in London and I try to play as much sport as possible, demonstrating a solid work ethic and a questionable skillset... not unlike my time at Fettes!

Michael Gammell, Co-founder of Days

I really enjoyed my time at Fettes. I was in Kimmerghame house and enjoyed playing rugby & running steeplechases. I studied History, Politics and Business Studies for my A Levels and left school in 2007 before taking a gap year travelling & working around South America, Australia and the United States. I studied History at the University of Bristol where I continued to play rugby and graduated in 2012. After university I worked in investment management for Artemis before joining a financial services start up called AlphaSights. I then went to London Business School to get an MBA before joining ABInBev (the world’s biggest beer company). Whilst at ABInBev I was responsible for launching and investing in new beverage brands for the business. I learnt a ton about drinks and innovation but grew frustrated at the bureaucracy of big business. I now run Days with my buddy Duncan. We’ve got a fantastic team who want to create the UK’s next great beer business, helping beer to evolve and stay relevant for a modern consumer. I live in London with my fiancée (Kendra) and still see a fair amount of my brothers Kit, Harry & Glen (all of whom went to / are at Fettes). I enjoy taking part in endurance challenges and catching up with pals- over a few beers of course.

Jack O’Toole, Student Recruitment & Widening Access / Student Recruitment Manager / Education

Jack graduated from the University of Northumbria, Newcastle in 2014 and has since worked in Higher Education. Jack spent 4 years at University of Northumbria working in the Outreach team, building relationships with schools and colleges up and down the country. Jack made the move ‘across the road’ to Newcastle University to undertake a role focusing on widening access events, like summer schools and pop up recruitment fairs. Outside of work, Jack is a school governor at a local school and in his spare time, he likes to gym and take his Chocolate Labrador for long walks in the countryside.

Richard Smith, Head of International University Applications

Richard graduated with a BA in Drama & English from Exeter University in 1993 and a PGCE from Heriot-Watt University the following year. He began his Fettes career in 1994 as a Drama & English teacher, before becoming Director of Drama and then Housemaster of Kimmerghame.

Since 2019 Richard has been Head of International University Applications, working closely with students, teaching colleagues, university admissions teams and educational consultants to support Fettesians applying to colleges and universities beyond the UK.

Mike Nicholson, Director of Recruitment, Admissions and Participation, University of Cambridge

Mike joined the University of Cambridge in October 2021, having previously worked as Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach at the University of Bath (2014-21) and University of Oxford (2006-2014), and Head of Undergraduate Admissions and Student Recruitment at the University of Essex (1998-2006).

Mike heads the team responsible for supporting undergraduate and postgraduate student admissions, student recruitment and marketing (UK and international), scholarships and funding, and widening access and participation. He also has oversight of the team developing the University Foundation Year for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, which had the first intake in October 2022. He is also one of three Deputy Heads in the Education Services department, with a particular responsibility for admissions, access and participation.

He is Vice Chair of the UCAS Council, the stakeholder advisory group that advises the UCAS Trustee Board on sector issues. He is also a Trustee of the Council of International Schools (sitting on the Finance and Membership and Accreditation committees) and a Trustee of the AQA Exam Board (where he also sits on their Research Committee and chairs the Higher Education Advisory Group). He has recently joined the Sutton Trust’s Education Advisory Board, and the Rethinking Assessment Advisory Board. Since 2019 he has been a member of the Universities UK Fair Admissions Advisory Group established to review the need for reform of the undergraduate student recruitment and admissions process in the UK. Mike graduated in 1990 from the University of Sheffield with a degree in English and History and attended Allegheny College, Pennsylvania for a year as an exchange student. He was the first member of his extended family to go to university, after attending state-funded comprehensive schools in Gateshead.

Ben Galligan, Funding Awareness Advisor -Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS)

Ben began his career with SAAS in the Contact Centre, being the first point of contact for any student(s) getting in touch with any questions. This has developed experience in engaging with people which now helps play a part in delivering presentations out on the road and assisting people face to face. He now works in the Funding Awareness team, responsible for covering the whole of Scotland delivering presentations wherever we go and is an expert in anything SAAS related! Along side his career Ben has two dogs, a Romanian rescue and a puggle, funny mix, and enjoys football. Ben believes that working in Funding Awareness is exciting and rewarding, you get to see parts of the country you never would and meet loads of new people daily.

Meet the Expert Bios

We are exceptionally grateful to Fettes parents and former students who are with us this morning to offer informal advice to any of our attendees.

Andrew Martin, international civil servant,United Nations

Andrew is an international civil servant at the United Nations, providing advice, guidance and substantive support to senior UN officials including the Director-General, UN Geneva. He began his career at the BBC working as a journalist in News and Current Affairs before joining ActionAid, the International Aid Agency as a Senior Media Manager, reporting on stories from the developing world, often in conflict zones or emergencies. Andrew joined the UN in 2007 as a Public Information Officer, working in Geneva and New York on diverse projects from ending conflict and alleviating poverty, to combating climate change and defending human rights. He is currently the Project Management Officer with the Strategic Heritage Plan, a $1 Billion project to renovate the Palais des Nations, the UN’s European Headquarters in Geneva, coordinating the projects governance and external relations with Member States. The world looks to the UN for solutions to complex problems everywhere; A career at the UN would suit dynamic and adaptable people who are not afraid to think creatively, to be proactive, flexible and responsive. The wide array of jobs at the UN means that you often change functions, departments, geographic locations, and even organizations or fields of work throughout your career, working in multi-cultural teams from 193 Member States. Andrew has a daughter at Fettes and has a BA (Hons) in Geography and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism from UClan.

Gillon Dobie, Sustainability

Gillon took a gap year after school travelling around the Arctic, Russia and then worked in the Middle East. He graduated with a BSc in Environmental Science from Sheffield University around 2008 and a MSc in Geophysical Hazards from University College London the following year. Shortly after this he began his career as an intern with Estover Energy, a renewable energy company based in London. Working with the same team over 5 years, Gillon was involved with the development, financing and construction of several large scale renewable energy projects across the UK. Learning on the job, working across the business gaining valuable experience and responsibility, Gillon left Estover to join Vescor Group in 2017 (a spin out from Estover Energy) as a founding partner and projects director. Vescor is a UK based developer in the sustainable food and farming space. In 2019 Vescor combined with GrowUp Farms, a pioneer in controlled environment agriculture (a.k.a. Vertical Farming). During a period of rapid scale up for GrowUp, Gillon created and took on a new role as Sustainability and Impact Director working across the company to improve and develop its positive environmental and social impact. This recently culminated in 2022 when GrowUp successfully became a BCorp, a global standard for sustainability and positive impact for profit, people and the planet. Gillon lives and works remotely from his family sheep farm in the Scottish Borders with his wife, 5 month old daughter, 2 dogs and 5 chickens. Gillon finds working in Sustainability and Impact to be the most rewarding and exciting job he could possibly ask for. His 3 top tips for a successful career are 1) never be late, 2) always be early, and 3) always ask questions no matter how silly you think they are!

Jeremy Beeton, Civil Engineer, International

Dr Jeremy Beeton CB (Ca 1967-1971) has 47 years international business experience in government, public and private companies, project and sport management, international civil engineering. Lived Dubai, Qatar, Hong Kong and UK. Worldwide experience in bridge construction, project finance, energy sector, airport construction, corporate acquisitions and disposals, business turnarounds, large scale multi project operations and portfolios.

Academic qualifications: B.Sc; C.Eng; FICE; Honorary Doctorates from Napier and Strathclyde Universities. Managing Director of Cleveland Bridge Dubai and UK 1986 - 1997 then Operations Director at Bechtel with worldwide project responsibility for civil engineering projects until in 2007 asked by UK government to take on role as Director General for 2012 Olympic Games. Non-executive and chairman roles : SSE plc; Macquarie ( MIRA) advisory panel and chairman Merseylink; OPG Power Ventures plc; chairman WYG plc; John Laing Group plc; Pensana plc; Court of Strathclyde University; PWC advisory board; NEOM Saudi Arabia; Ministry of Justice.

Mike Ashburn, Sustainability, Engineering, Business

Mike Ashburn graduated from Manchester University in 1982 with a First in Mechanical Engineering, while competing the training requirements for Institute of Mechanical Engineers. This was as close as he got to being a practicing engineer however, as he wanted a job with travel and joined the London office of a US oil services company working in Business Development - chasing equipment sales to North Sea operators. The company sent him to Singapore in 1986 and he didn’t return to the UK until 2021, living in the Asia Pacific region for a total of 35 years.

While in Singapore his career took a change of direction when he joined a turnkey construction company which was an early mover in private sector finance for energy and infrastructure projects. Having learned about finance, he co-founded an energy sector development company which became a leading foreign investor in China’s power sector. He moved to Beijing in 1998, to build that business, getting married, having two children and staying in Beijing for 12 years. In 2003, he co-founded ClearWorld Energy, to introduce technologies, finance and new business models to kick-start clean energy in China - the company’s carbon credit business grew fast and was listed on UK AIM in 2006. After a stint in New Zealand he returned to Singapore, where he led a program to coach inventors in how to commercialize their ideas. Clearworld Energy is still active and invests in clean technologies including renewable energy, water purification, new materials and sustainable processes.

Based ex Edinburgh from 2021, Mike serves as non-exec director of several exciting start-ups looking to make a positive impact. His wife is an art student, his son is at UCL and his daughter is in her final year at Fettes College. www.clearworldenergy.com

James Ramirez, Director of Engineering, Bobsled

Graduating with a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Sussex in 2001, James joined Barclays Capital as a Software Engineer having completed a successful internship during his degree in the summer of 2000. He worked there for sixteen years in increasingly senior roles in London, Singapore and then London again, working on client-facing technologies, building teams and communities within the investment bank, and coaching and mentoring engineers. In 2015 he became the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at a behavioural finance startup, Essentia Analytics, leading the business through key stages of growth and funding, together with international security accreditations. Last month he left there to join another early stage startup, Bobsled, where he is once more building teams and tackling novel engineering problems. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Chartered IT Practitioner. Alongside his career, James has two children at Fettes and enjoys fencing and creative writing. He believes that working in engineering is a rewarding mix of rigorous thinking and curiosity, requiring creative empathetic people to help make a meaningful impact.

Peter MacDonald, Company Director, Executive Chairman of “Carbon Recycled Energy Ltd”

Peter joined the Royal Marines in 1981 and served in a number of roles across the world until leaving in 1992. He went on to a career in Financial Services with Goldman Sachs and ended up with an unplanned but long stay in Asia for 14+ years: 6 years in Tokyo, 2 ½ years in Beijing and 6 years in Hong Kong.

On returning to the UK, he joined a renewable energy business which designs powerplants to generate clean heat and power. He is currently working on powerplant projects in Asia (Indonesia) and the West Balkans.

Peter graduated with a BA in Arabic from Durham University in 1987. Alongside his career is his wife Zillah, their daughter and of course Lewis the dog. His hobbies are kitesurfing, fishing and mountain climbing.

Scott Ferguson, Finance

Scott graduated with a BA (Hons) in Economics, with a Concentration in Applied Statistics, from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota USA in 1985. In 1987, he received an MBA in Finance and Applied Economics from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Management at the University of Rochester in New York, USA. Over a thirty year career, Scott held senior roles in the Derivatives/Securities/sales, Capital Markets and Investment Banking/Advisory/M&A areas of investment banks and has done so in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, while working for American and Asian employers.

He began his career as an Associate at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York and in London. Scott was ultimately Co-Head of Equity-linked Securities and Co-head of International Equity-Linked Origination. In addition, Scott held leadership roles in Middle Eastern and Sovereign Wealth Fund client coverage, Graduate/MBA Recruiting and New Associate Training.

Scott then spent five years as Managing Director, Head of Equity Capital Markets for Salomon/Citigroup based in Hong Kong and was a member of Citigroup Market's Asia/Pacific Management Committee. Scott then was Managing Director, Co-Head of EMEA Equity Capital Markets and Corporate Equity Derivatives at Lehman Brothers, based in London, and additionally, was responsible for coverage of Financial Institutions. Scott also sat on Lehman’s EMEA Investment Banking Executive Committee.

Finally, Scott was Managing Director, Head of Investment Banking for the Middle East and North Africa for Nomura, based in Dubai, where he was also a member of the firm’s Middle Eastern Executive Committee.

Jonathan Toub, Global Equity and Emerging Market Equities

Jonathan graduated from King's College, London with an LLB Hons in Law in 1999. He went on to qualify as a US Attorny-at-Law, calling to the New York Bar and after a short stint in the Competition Law Department of a US Law firm in Brussels, decided to switch disciplines to fund management. Jonathan joined the graduate program with F&C Asset Management in London in 2002, working on the Global Equity team before moving to Emerging Markets (EM) in 2004. Over the past 20 years, he has held roles in various fund management groups, founding a small EM boutique investment firm and moving to Edinburgh along the way. Today, Jonathan is at Aviva Investors where he manages an EM equity fund and has recently launched a Global Equity Biodiversity fund focused on supporting the transition to a nature positive economy. Throughout his career, Jonathan has travelled extensively across the world, meeting companies, politicians, analysts and asset allocators, which has been hugely interesting and rewarding. He has three children and enjoys an array of activities with them.

Marc Lino, Finance, Entrepreneurship

Marc graduated with a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University in 1994 and an MBA in Finance and Economics from NYU Stern School of Business in 1999. Marc is a Senior Partner with Bain & Company, where he is the Global Head of ESG (Environmental Social Governance) for Private Equity. In this capacity, Marc works with our clients across the investing value chain – from fundraising and strategy through diligence and ownership, and eventual exit – to help clients drive ESG outcomes and capture economic returns. He started with Bain in New York City, and moved to Europe (Amsterdam and London) 10 years ago. Beyond Bain, Marc is an entrepreneur and is a co-founder of Billy's Bakery in New York City. He enjoys building businesses that have a positive impact on the communities in which they operate. He spends most of his time with his wife and their two daughters, travelling, hiking and cooking together.

Kevin Ludwick, Finance, Regulation, Technology

Kevin Ludwick went to a state school and took Zoology, Politics, History and English at A level (the latter two at S level) and sat the scholarship exams for Cambridge in a 4th term. Kevin never, ever, again worked as hard as that first year and a term in my sixth form Kevin matriculated into St John's in 1982 on the fabled Law Rugby Tripos but switched to fronting a pop group and playing hockey for 3 years. He still loves to play music, enjoys watching rugby and developed a taste for good wine and better company that has never left him. Kevin started in management consulting but drifted into the City proper by 1987 as a "compliance officer" working in bonds and derivatives. For the next 35 years he stayed in the same line of work: responsible for the way his employer identified and complied with legal and regulatory requirements. Most of that time was spent in 2 global banking institutions (Bank of America and MUFG) covering most financial products in most countries. Mid-career

Kevin took a big pay cut to go work for the UK government as a financial regulator a sort of "poacher turned gamekeeper" supervising banks, insurance companies and latterly financial markets before heading back to banking. He ended up running MUFGs global compliance programme out of Tokyo (but lived in Singapore). Kevin left the bank and now lives in Edinburgh and serves as Chairman of Uphold Europe - a licensed crypto currency exchange.

Andrew Brown, Chartered Accountant, Associate Director, PwC

After leaving Fettes in 2006, Andrew studied International Relations and Russian at the University of St Andrews. As part of his degree Andrew spent an academic year studying in Russia, in St Petersburg and Moscow.

Following his graduation from St Andrews in 2011, Andrew joined PwC’s graduate programme. On this programme Andrew worked in the audit practice of PwC’s Edinburgh office and provided audit services to a diverse range of clients. He also undertook professional qualification training and in 2014 he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).

In 2016 Andrew moved to the corporate finance infrastructure team in PwC’s advisory practice. During the past seven years Andrew has been responsible for providing commercial and financial advice on a wide variety of infrastructure projects. He currently focuses on the education and health sectors, working primarily for UK public sector clients. Andrew continues to be based in Edinburgh, but works with colleagues and on projects across the UK.

Mei Feng, Actuary,Pensions

Most of my actuarial career is in pensions consultancy, primarily advising defined benefit pension scheme trustees and their sponsors on their scheme funding requirements and scheme pension accounts. Many people find it boring but I find it very stimulating - my job is not just about numbers, it is also about helping trustees make the right decision and ensure the pension scheme fund is working as hard as it can and there is enough money in the pot to pay out pensions promised to scheme members and their spouses.

My last role as a contractor at Lloyds Banking Group was very different to what I used to do as a pensions consultant. I worked on a variety of rectification projects which involved finding out what had gone wrong and calculating what should have been paid out to some policyholders. Some rectification projects involved paying out some serious money and one of the largest projects paid out a total of over £10 million! This role required working with various stakeholders and the three years working as a contractor made me truly appreciate the importance of softer skills, just being good with numbers is not enough, a good actuary needs to be able to articulate very technical knowledge to a wider audience who do not often have an actuarial background. Establishing rapport with everyone and building a solid team are also essential to deliver our goals, which I’ve found critical in my current role as a resource manager in our GMP team at Buck Consultants.

Dr. Yen Tran, Assoc. Professor in Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Dr. Tran is currently an Associate Professor in Innovation, Strategy and International Entrepreneurship at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University. Dr. Tran has a strong international academic background. She completed her PhD in InnovationManagementand Strategyat Copenhagen Business School (CBS-INO Department of Innovation and Organisational Economics) and Stanford University in 2009 She previously held academic position at Copenhagen Business School (INT) and was a visiting professor at FPT UniversityBusiness School- Vietnam (2016-2019). She has strong collaboration with Danang Economic University, VN_UK research institute, Vietnam to support their research and education.

After graduating two undergraduate degrees in Foreign Trade and Law, she worked as sales executive for Daewoo Corporation (Korean multinational company) in Hanoi Vietnam. With two years of corporate working experience, she was qualified to study MBA at Asian Institute of Technology Thailand 2002 and later went on an exchange program at Ohio State University (Fisher College of Business) in 2003 . She also obtained her MSc at Copenhagen Business School in International Business.

Besides from academic work, she currently runs her own business in property investment and management, which rents out accommodation to students at Universities in Edinburgh. She works as a freelance consultant in organisational change management, international business and is also actively involving in the start-up activities of the University in commercialisation of technology and sits in investment syndicate to support startup firms.

Gareth Williams, Internet/ Founder & CEO / Startups

Gareth graduated with a BSc in Mathematics and Computer Science from Manchester University in 1992. He also lived (>1 year) in Switzerland, Canada, France and Australia.

Gareth, with two friends, started a travel search engine website Skyscanner in 2002 and moved to Edinburgh. The startup began in Leith rather than Silicon Valley and remained headquartered in Edinburgh. Over time 10 other offices followed worldwide. By the time he left in 2019 there were 200 million visitors to the app and website each month. Gareth is now learning mathematics for the fun of it, rewilding some land, and investing in local startups.

Language (from 60,000 years ago) is a technology invention as is the written word (6,000 years ago). Computing and the internet (60 years ago) has been another (ongoing) technological revolution. He expects technological progress in Artificial Intelligence injustthelast6monthsto prove to be as significant in impact on Society as the internet itself. This offers your generation many and varied opportunities, but he urges against working for Facebook. Or TikTok.

Gareth has three wonderful children and believes that learning from others (especially reading) along with a physically active lifestyle will help you go far.

Iain Kennedy, Product Management Executive/ Senior Director of Product / Technology.

Iain Kennedy graduated with an MA (Hons) in History and Philosophy from Glasgow University in 1993. He worked for IBM in Scotland before moving to the US to pursue two graduate degrees: a Masters in Medieval History from Columbia University (New York) in 1999 and an MBA from the University of Michigan (2004). He began his post-MBA career as a Product Manager with American Express (New York) before moving to Amazon (Seattle) in 2009. Iain spent ten years at Amazon, working on products including Express Checkout, Alexa, and Amazon Web Services. In 2021 he moved to the Brazilian company Nubank, the world’s largest digital bank with over 75 million customers. He heads up Product Management for the Technical Platforms teams. He is also ‘Chapter Lead’ for Product Management, leading 400 professionals across the company in such matters as career development, performance evaluation, and hiring. Iain is married to Jess (an attorney at Starbucks) and has two children (Owen: Fettes Lower 6th) and Natalie (age 14). He enjoys working out in his home gym, walking his Bernese Mountain Dog, reading science fiction, and traveling with family. He believes that Product Management is a tremendously rewarding career: it combines the critical thinking and communication skills of a humanities education with the technical knowledge of software systems design and general business management.

Ric Clark, Data Modeller/Engineer/Project Manager | Neurodiversity Advocate | Video Producer | Brand Ambassador | Volunteer

Ric left Fettes in 1994 and for a while studied Theology at St Andrews University, leaving without a degree. For several years he worked in mostly sales jobs, selling advertising, property, mortgages, phones, homeware, and beer. He then started working in accountancy for a small accountants practice for 2 years, and later in the finance department of a very successful investment managers in Edinburgh for 10 years.

He earned a bachelor’s degree “Equivalent” through his professional studies at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, as well as an Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business, and a Certificate in Business Valuations, jointly awarded by ACCA and Ordre Des Experts-Comptables. He isn’t a qualified accountant! Just before covid hit, he left his job and retrained in Data Analysis at CodeClan Edinburgh, and now works as a Data Modeller/Engineer/Project Manager for Miller Homes Ltd, Housebuilders.

Ric is married with a 5-year-old son, and is passionate about sport, the power of reinvention and following your creative interests. He runs competitively for Edinburgh Athletic Club and enjoys photography and video production, volunteering, and baking. He was diagnosed with ADHD at age 36 and autism at 46.

Having made the pivot into working in Data, he’s very excited about the future possibilities for careers in general in that field. He also believes very strongly that there is more than one path to achieve your career aspirations and is keen to talk about the various alternatives.

Geraldine Mynors, Psychotherapist, former NHS Manager and Management Consultant

Geraldine graduated from New College, Oxford University in 1991 with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and joined the Department of Health General Management Training Scheme. She worked in several hospitals, becoming General Manager for Trauma and A&E at University Hospital Birmingham, before completing an MBA at London Business School in 2000. She then worked for McKinsey and Company and as an independent management consultant for many years, mainly on health and poverty related projects, such as one to set up unLTD, the Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs. She completed a Masters in Public Health at the University of Glasgow in 2017. In the past 4 years Geraldine has changed direction and qualified as a CBT psychotherapist and now works at Revive MS Support in Govan as well as with private clients. She has two children aged 20 and 17 and founded an ADHD parent support group in Glasgow. She is a keen singer and runs the Glasgow Bach Cantata Project. Geraldine believes that her career shows that learning needs to be lifelong and that as a parent it's often necessary to be flexible - in other words having it all is a myth!

Flora Maclay – Consultant Counselling Psychologist at First Psychology in Edinburgh working with adults, young people, children and families (note, unavailable 10.50-11.30)

Flora graduated with a MA in Classics from Cambridge University in 1999. She worked for a year writing reports on financial markets before returning to London Metropolitan university to convert her degree to Psychology over 2 years and doing a MSc and Postgraduate Practitioner Diploma in Cuunselling Psychology to qualify as a Counselling Psychologist over a further 3 years. A lot of studying! Throughout this time she worked in a number of settings from schools to GP surgeries, family centres to Childline and the Place2Be. She then moved to Edinburgh and began working as a psychologist in independent practice with First Psychology where she offers therapy to adults, young people, children and families. She has worked there for 17 years helping to develop their children and families service and providing supervision to therapists alongside working with clients. Flora is also involved in providing training for therapists and other organisations. She is passionate about her job and happy to talk to anyone about why it's never going to be boring! Flora lives in the Borders with her 4 children and assorted animals and particularly enjoys riding.

Laura Sinclair, Solicitor

Laura graduated with a BA (Hons) in Classics from Durham University in 1994, took the CPE in Law at City University in 1995 & LPC at Guildford College of Law in 1996, before joining Macfarlanes, in the City. Qualifying in 1998, she was involved in rewriting the trading rules for the Lloyds insurance market, following its crash, as well as acting for high-net-worth individuals in tax-efficient property investments. Stepping away from corporate life, Laura then worked at Country Land & Business Association (CLA) over the foot & mouth crisis in 2000, as an agricultural & land law adviser on their helpline, also lobbying at Westminster & in Brussels on behalf of farmers, before returning to private practice in 2002, first for Withers LLP in the CIty, then Bircham Dyson Bell in Westminster. On marrying Matthew in 2005, Laura moved to Scotland, and returned to work remotely for CLA. She joined Turcan Connell in Edinburgh in 2017, dual-qualifying as a solicitor in Scots law in 2019, so working on agricultural & forestry transactions throughout the UK. Laura has two children and enjoys watersports & the arts. Laura believes that working in the law is intellectually challenging, kept interesting by its constant variety, and direct contact with clients looking for answers.

Harriet Murray, Solicitor qualified in Scotland and in England and Wales

After Fettes, Harriet read Philosophy at the University of St Andrews, graduating in 2003 following which she read Law at the University of Edinburgh on the 2-year accelerated law degree course and then completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, also from the University of Edinburgh.

Harriet trained at a medium-sized full-service Legal 500 law firm in Edinburgh, qualifying in 2008, and practised Private Client work (for example Wills, estate planning, estate administration and personal tax) at the same firm until moving south in 2014. During this time, Harriet also became dual qualified (Scots Law and English Law).

In 2011, Harriet won Core Solution Group's Young Mediator Scholarship and the scholarship was a place on Core’s flagship 5-day Mediation and Conflict Management Skills course, becoming a trained mediator on completing their course assessment. Harriet has also assisted with several commercial mediations since then.

Harriet joined an English firm in London in 2014, and has practised English Private Client work since then. Since August 2020, Harriet has been working at Hunters Law LLP in New Square, Lincoln's Inn, London.

As well as being qualified both in Scotland and in England and Wales, Harriet is also a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the globally recognised benchmark qualification for trusts and estates, and also a member of Solicitors for the Elderly, a UK organisation for solicitors working with older and vulnerable clients. She completed the STEP Advanced Certificate in International Succession and Probate in February 2014.

Harriet sings soprano with the London Philharmonic Choir, St Paul's Cathedral Chorus and Chelsea Opera Group.

Callum Cowx, Lawyer/Judge and Tribunal Chair

Callum graduated with a BA in Classical Studies from the University of Hull in 1989. As a Royal Navy bursar he attended Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth after graduation and subsequently commissioned into the Royal Navy as a Seaman (now ‘Warfare’) Officer.

Callum left the Royal Navy in 1993 and completed the one year law conversion course (‘Common Professional Exam’) at the University of Northumbria. However, instead of pursuing a career in the law, Callum joined Cumbria Constabulary as a Police Constable in 1994. Callum completed the 2-year part time solicitor’s Legal Practice Course at Northumbria in 1998 and left the police to complete his training as a solicitor. Callum qualified as a solicitor and joined the Army Legal Service in early 2000. Callum spent the next 4½ years as an Army lawyer in a variety of posts in the UK and Germany, and on operational tours in Iraq and Kosovo.

Callum left the Army in September 2004 and joined the Crown Prosecution Service where he handled a wide variety of criminal cases and appeared regularly as an advocate in the Magistrates Courts and the Crown Court.

Callum re-joined the Army Legal Service in January 2010 and spent the next 7 years prosecuting cases in the Court Martial in England, Germany and Cyprus. He then took a sabbatical from legal practice, working as a senior staff officer at the Army Personnel Centre in Glasgow and at the Ministry of Defence in London. Callum retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in April 2021. He now enjoys a portfolio of part time judicial and quasi-judicial roles.

As a lawyer he is dual qualified (Solicitor and Barrister), having been called to the Bar at Middle Temple in October 2017.

He was a appointed a fee-paid judge in the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in 2019. He is also currently assigned to sit as a judge in the Employment Tribunal of England and Wales.

Callum also sits frequently as a Legally Qualified Chair of police misconduct hearings and medical practitioners’ fitness to practice tribunals. He is also a member of the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal for England and Wales.

Callum has thoroughly enjoyed the many and varied opportunities afforded to him by the Armed Forces, the police, the legal profession and the judiciary. He particularly enjoyed the camaraderie of the Army and Navy, winning jury trials and delivering justice for victims. Callum has two children, both Fettesians. He enjoys travelling, hill walking and history. He firmly believes that everyone has talent and in never taking “No” for an answer!

Carrie Armstrong, Lawyer – UK Real Estate (note, with us until 11.30am only)

Carrie Armstrong graduated with a MA Hons degree in Modern History from St Andrews University in 1996, an LLB and Legal Diploma from Edinburgh University in 1999 and is qualified as a solicitor in Scotland, England and Wales. She is a partner in the Real Estate division at international law firm, Addleshaw Goddard which operates in over 90 countries and has 16 international offices. Carrie has worked at the same firm since starting as a trainee in 1999, she has a multi-disciplinary practice with a focus on new opportunities in the markets of ports, transports and energy both in the UK and internationally. Carrie was Head of Graduate Recruitment for Scotland for 7 years and remains actively involved in the firm's infrastructure for spotting and retaining talent. She is an accredited coach with the Institute of Leadership and coaches a number of individuals across the international business. She has 3 children aged 12, 15 and 17. Carrie believes that a future career in law is an exciting prospect particularly for anyone who is interested in working in an innovative, collaborative culture where problem solving and finding solutions is part of our everyday.

Professor Michael Eddleston, Professor of Clinical Toxicology, University of Edinburgh (note, unavailable 11-11.30am)

Graduated with a BA in Medical Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1990, a PhD from both Scripps Research Institute, California, and University of Cambridge in 1994, and a clinical medicine degree from the University of Oxford in 1998 (during which time he spent one year in Sri Lanka, performing research and writing a book). After junior doctor training, he obtained an intermediate clinical research fellowship from the Wellcome Trust at Oxford and returned to Sri Lanka for 4 years to research the presentation and management of pesticide poisoning. In 2005, he moved to Edinburgh where he completed higher specialist training in clinical pharmacology and toxicology, becoming a Lister Institute Prize Fellow and, in 2013, Professor of Clinical Toxicology. He currently sees patients one day per week in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and supports the UK’s Poisons Information Centre network a second day per week. His research work aims to prevent deaths from poisoning globally, with a focus on South Asia, working with clinicians, communities, and governments. It requires putting together and supporting large multi-disciplinary research teams in Asia and Africa. It also requires good communication and leadership skills, as well as skills in research and clinical practice. Academia is extremely flexible and rewarding, while requiring hard work, focus and drive to answer a question (or two).

Dr Kate Rennie, General Practitioner, Ministry of Defence GP, occupational health and primary care (Unusual route to qualification, attending medical school as a mature student)

Kate Rennie graduated with a BSc in Psychology from Exeter University in 1995.

Getting married to an army officer, with the prospect of frequent moves, meant careful consideration of career options. Initially, she chose to pursue the educational route, so completed a PGCE at Exeter University (St Luke’s College) in 1996. For the following 5 years, she taught at primary schools across the UK and in Cyprus, whilst studying for an MSc in Educational Psychology. During this time, she realised that she was more passionate about clinical topics and so applied to do medicine at the age of 26 years old. Having done A-levels in Maths, Chemistry and Biology meant she was able to apply directly, without need for an access course.

She graduated from St George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London, in 2006.

Her junior doctor years were combined with family life (2 children), so done on a part-time basis. Initially in London but the majority of her post-graduate training was carried out in hospitals across Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders. She completed her GP training in 2015.

She has worked in a variety of locations across the UK, in both NHS GP practices and military medical centres – as a civilian GP, working predominantly with the Army and the Navy. In 2019, she moved to the south of England and now works at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, for Army Officer recruitment in an occupational health role. She leads the clinical team responsible for entry medicals for the University Officer Training Corps (UOTC) across the whole of the UK. In addition to this, to continue her clinical work, she does regular clinics as a GP for the military, as well as occasional work for the NHS.

Alongside her career as a doctor, Kate enjoys spending time with her family at their home in the Borders. She finds her work as a GP really rewarding - being organised, perceptive and interested in people and their lives has helped her considerably throughout her career. The continued learning, combined with the variety of work means there is always something new and challenging to keep life interesting.

Paul R Sharma, Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Orthodontics

Paul attended The High School of Dundee where he secured six Higher Grade As and graduated from The University of Dundee Dental School in 1999 with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery.

Paul completed his specialist training in Orthodontics at the Edinburgh Dental Institute, gaining his Masters in Clinical Dentistry in Orthodontics in 2009. He achieved the Membership in Orthodontics from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2011.

Paul is a registered specialist in Orthodontics.

He then completed a further two and a half years training at King’s College Hospital in London to gain the Intercollegiate Speciality Fellowship in Orthodontics.

Paul works as a Consultant Orthodontist in Scotland and England where he provides treatment for adults and children with complex orthodontic problems as well as teaching future Orthodontic Specialists.

Paul has an area of interest in patients with dentofacial deformity and Cleft Lip & Palate. He is an examiner and a Dental Ambassador for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He is a member of the British Orthodontic Society and a subeditor for the British Orthodontic Society Journal.

Paul has published several articles and presents orthodontic lectures both nationally and internationally.

Gillian Birnie, Quality Assurance Consultant, Life Sciences Industry

Gillian graduated with a BSc in Biological Sciences from Napier University in 1996. She began her career as a Good Laboratory Practice Auditor with Inveresk Research. Gillian worked in Good Laboratory Practice until 2004 when she joined an international consultancy company (Tower Mains) based in Edinburgh For the next 8 years, Gillian expanded her career into Good Clinical Practice, providing Quality Assurance consultancy services to ensure that Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies were conducting clinical research according to international regulations and guidelines. Gillian worked in various leadership roles within Clinical Quality until 2020, including 8 years living and working in North Carolina in the USA. In 2020, Gillian launched her own consultancy company and relocated back to Scotland in 2022. Along side her career Gillian has one daughter, multiple pets including a horse, and enjoys walking and riding. Gillian believes that working in clinical research is exciting and rewarding, utilising a range of skills, such as a keen eye for detail, expertise in the governing laws and guidelines, pragmatism, and problem solving.

Dr Katie Dykes BMBCh, Medicine

Katie graduated from The University of Oxford (Keble College). I have medical experience in Acute Medicine and A&E, but also have experience in data and research. I am happy to discuss the application process to medical school and medicine as a career choice.

Alasdair Thomson, Stone Sculptor

Alasdair Thomson graduated from Fettes in 2000. He achieved his MA in Art History from The University of Edinburgh in 2004 and a Diploma in Sculpture from the Senese Scuola Edile in Siena, Italy in 2010. Upon graduating from the Scuola Edile he returned to Edinburgh and established his own studio practice in the Mayfield area of the city. He works predominantly in Italian Carrara marble and has exhibited widely, including in London, New York and Hong Kong. His former clients include Nike and Puma, and professionals from the sports and fashion worlds including designers Jeff Staple and Salehe Bembury, and former Italian national goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Most recently, he has been commissioned by NBA star Damian Lillard.

Alasdair has also worked in the restoration and conservation of historic stone. His work can be found on buildings and monuments across Edinburgh and further throughout Scotland, including Edinburgh Castle, St. Giles Cathedral and Rosslyn Chapel. A career highlight came in 2019 when Alasdair was commissioned by Nike to carve a sculpture for the NFL Super Bowl LIII In Atlanta, GA. He also enjoys teaching annually on a residential sculpture programme in Tuscany.

Alasdair is married to Hannah and they have a 2 year old daughter. instagram.com/alasdaircthomson

Jeremy Gow, Antique Furniture Restoration

Jeremy Gow has run his business Gow Antiques & Restoration Ltd for nearly 30 years. He always enjoyed practical subjects at School and on leaving, decided to pursue woodwork. He trained initially in Scotland then extensively in Europe. He is the only Accredited member of the British Antique Furniture Restorers Association in Scotland and undertakes work for Royal Palaces, the National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland and numerous private stately homes. He runs Courses from his workshop and showroom in Angus and has had people attend from all over the world who are keen to know more about antiques and their restoration.

Jeremy is married with two children. He enjoys county pursuits and is a keen skier. He believes if you are passionate about your job, it truly doesn’t feel like work!

Iona Hilleary, Landscape Designer, Practising Garden Design and Landscape Architecture

I graduated with a 2:2 from Bristol University in French & Russian in 1992 and took a postgraduate diploma in Garden Design at the Inchbald School of Design in London after 7 years in Finance. I have run my own practice designing private gardens all over the UK and abroad for 23 years and worked for commercial landscape architecture practice Portus & Whitton in Gloucestershire for 5 years. This experience provided valuable knowledge working on listed landscapes for The National Trust and on high-profile hotel contracts such as Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire.

A career in Landscape or Garden Design includes a broad range of skills.

Within this industry you can be artistic and learn to draw technical plans. You can be mathematical and learn how to manipulate the landscape and topography. You can be methodical and be a quantity surveyor or project manager. You can be practical and learn about construction and building techniques. Or you can be greenfingered and excel at horticulture and plantsmanship.

Above all, you will develop an appreciation for the landscapes that surround us and complement the built environment of our houses and cityscapes. This is an immensely rewarding career whether it is creating a beautiful garden for a private client to enjoy, or protecting and enhancing the biodiversity of the natural world for our collective future.

Caroline Lees, Journalist, National Newspapers, now Communications Consultant

Caroline Lees graduated with a BA in History from University of East Anglia in the early 1980s, and gained an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics in the mid 1990s. She began her career working in a travel agent, selling plane tickets to Malaga, not very successfully; then worked in publishing, and fashion belt-selling, until travelling to Australia and winning a place on a Graduate Training scheme with Fairfax Newspapers (owner of the Sydney Morning Herald). After that Caroline worked for The Bulletin with Newsweek, before becoming editor of (what was then) the world's highest selling per capita teenage girls magazine, Dolly Magazine, owned by Australian Consolidated Press. After this Caroline moved back to the UK and joined The Sunday Times newspaper, as a news reporter, arts correspondent, and foreign correspondent based in South Asia. Since then she has worked in most other UK newspaper jobs including Assistant Editor,

The Scotsman; Foreign Editor, the Sunday Express, deputy foreign editor, The Sunday Telegraph, and also reported for Marie Claire magazine, Index on Censorship, the Independent, etc etc. Caroline's most recent job was as Research Associate - then Head of Communications - at Oxford University's Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, in Oxford. She is now a non-executive director of Social Enterprise, The Circle, based in Dundee and Glasgow and communications consultant to social businesses and charities.

Caroline believes that journalism can be an exciting and rewarding career with multiple variations and options including communications and PR. he has three daughters and lives on the east coast of Scotland.

Johnny Weir, Head of Corporate Communications, Federated Hermes Limited

Johnny graduated with MA (Hons) in Mediaeval History from St Andrews University in 1995. He began his career that same year in a small Public Relations (PR) Agency in London helping a mixture of clients to engage with both regional and national broadcast and written media. Having cut his PR teeth in agency life he moved to Reuters, the news and data organisation, where he held several roles between 1999-2006, latterly as Head of Corporate PR for the FTSE 100 company.

In 2007 he joined global investment bank, Deutsche Bank. He spent twelve years there in several senior communications roles. From 2016 to 2019 he was Global Head of Corporate Communications for DWS, one of Europe’s largest asset managers with over €750 billion of assets under management. Prior to that he was Global Head of Internal Communications for Deutsche Bank and previously Co-Head of Communications & Marketing for Corporate Banking & Securities.

Today he is Head of Corporate Communications for investment manager, Federated Hermes Ltd, based in London.

Johnny says of his career: “A job in Corporate Communications puts you firmly in the middle of events and among some of the smartest, most powerful people in the commercial world. You engage with the most influential people operating in today’s fast moving media. There really isn’t a dull moment.”

Virginia Lingstadt-Bastide, PR, Marketing, Recruitment and Business

Virginia graduated with a First Class Honours, MA Public Relations from the Dublin Institute of Technology (2002) and an Upper Second Class, MA History of Art from the University of Edinburgh (2001). She started her career in Public Relations with PagodaPRin Edinburgh; thereafter the Edinburgh office of the global PR agency WeberShandwickbefore then working as a Senior Account Manager at MHWPRin Newcastle, England. During this period, she worked on projects such as the London 2012 Olympic bid; the UK’s switchover to Digital Television; promoting English Heritage and PR for various higher education institutions. She relocated to Paris in 2009, where she started working as a Project Manager for the world's largest embolization event entitled GEST2010in San Francisco.

Through her range of experiences, her passion lay in the education field. Having worked in the UK, States and Europe, her international background led her then to join the Parisian company LeRepertoirede Gaspard– an English-speaking childcare agency in 2010 to work in the HR and Marketing department. Her work here led her to develop the English-speaking services side of the business and she became Director of Recruitment in 2011. In 2014, she became the Co-Founder of the Paris Institute of Childcare Training. This is a training centre dedicated to helped English speakers enter both full-time and part-time work opportunities in childcare sector realm in France.