Commonwealth Games Scotland member sports meet at least once a year at an AGM. Every four years they elect an Executive Board, who are appointed as Directors and manage the affairs of CGS. They are appointed for a four year period from the year immediately after each Commonwealth Games.
The Board consists of an independent appointed Chair, a Board member representing athletes and four Executive members appointed by member sports. In addition the Board has the power to co-opt up to four non-Executive Directors.
An Honorary Medical Adviser and Honorary Legal Adviser are also appointed in an advisory capacity. All these positions are appointed following an open recruitment process. A full list and details of all Board members and advisers can be seen in the Board Members section of the website.
There are currently four honorary life members: Paul Bush OBE, Maureen Campbell OBE, Michael Cavanagh OBE and Dame Louise Martin CBE. The Board also appoints representatives of CGS to the Team Scotland Youth Trust, an independent charitable trust, The Chair and Past Chair also represent CGS on the Scottish Commonwealth Games Endowment Fund. Representatives also attend meetings of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and European Region Group of the CGF to help direct strategy and policy of the parent body.
The Commonwealth Games Scotland Board meets approximately every second month, with an AGM usually held in May or June, with minutes from the Board meetings available to download below.
Ian Reid CBE, Chair
Ian was appointed as Chair of CGS in May 2023. served as Chief Financial Officer of the Glasgow 2014 Games and more recently as Chief Executive Officer of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. He has also worked in numerous non-sports positions, including roles with PwC, EY and Glasgow Housing Association.
Jennifer Barsby, Director
Jen has worked at Scottish Disability Sport since July 2013 where she was the Opportunities and Equality Manager until 2022 and has since taken on the role of Performance Development Manager. Through both roles she has gained a wealth of experience in Para Sport, Safeguarding and Equality as well as experience improving governance across SDS member branches. Jen is also on the Boccia UK Board and was the General Team Manager for Accommodation and Village for Team Scotland for Gold Coast 2018. Previously Jen was an Active Schools Co-ordinator and a Disability Development Officer
Bruce Cook, Director
Bruce is a consultant in sport sponsorship, marketing and insight, and has been involved with the CGS Board since May 2017 where he leads on Commercial strategy.
He served as Director, Consulting of YouGov Sport for over seven years, following a two year stint as Head of Group Sponsorship at Royal Bank of Scotland.
Joanne Deponio, Director for Governance
Joanne is currently Director of Host Relations for the delivery company for UEFA EURO 2028, having played a leading role in the tournament from the bid stage onwards. She has over 25 years’ experience in strategic planning, risk management and programme management for major events, including multi-sport Games. Her previous roles include management positions with EventScotland, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Glasgow Life. She played key roles in delivering the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2018 European Championships and chaired the Finance and Risk Committee for the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships.
Jodey Hughes, Athlete Representative
Currently Deputy Head of Campaigns and Remissions at HMRC, Jodey represented Team Scotland in Weightlifting at two Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022, Jodey brings a wealth of experience leading high performance teams and projects in her professional career and is keen to play a part in ensuring the positive environment and support she experienced continues for future athletes.
Nigel Holl, Director
Nigel Holl was elected to the CGS Board in May 2021. Nigel is the Executive Performance Director for British Curling, and also serves on the Scottish Cycling Board of Directors. He has a wealth of experience across at executive leadership, board governance and performance director level in Scottish and UK sport.
Marc Hope, Director
Marc was elected to the CGS Board in May 2023. He is a sports sponsorship consultant whose successful partnerships have included Team GB, British Athletics, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, World Athletics and World Para Athletics Championships, the FINA World Swimming Championships and the LTA.
He currently advises Access Sport, who improve the lives of disadvantaged and disabled young people across the UK, as well as the International Island Games Association, the four home nations athletics associations and Glasgow 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships. He is also a non-executive Director on the Board of Scottish Squash, where he Chairs the Finance, Commercial & HR Committee, and is a Board Director for the British Athletics Supporters Club Ltd.
Susan Jackson, Director
Susan Jackson was elected to the CGS Board at the 2015 AGM and has responsibility for finance. She was the Athletes’ Representative on the Board from 2011 until 2015 following a successful sporting career that saw her represent Scotland in small bore rifle shooting at three Commonwealth Games, winning: bronze in 1998; silver in 2002; and, gold in 2006. She has also held a number of voluntary positions within the sport over the last 20 years.
She was part of the Achieve 2014 programme at the Delhi 2010 Games acting as an Athlete Mentor, allowing her to share her experiences with aspiring athletes and coaches. For the Glasgow 2014 Games she was instrumental in supporting the Organising Committee’s Athlete Representative Group. She also co-ordinated the Athletes’ First programme, with former athletes inspiring and offering support to Team Scotland members.
In her professional life, Susan is a Chartered Accountant with her family business. Previously she worked in the corporate finance team at Deloitte for 12 years before joining the Winning Scotland Foundation as a senior director where she was instrumental in the development and growth of one of its programmes, Champions in Schools.
Professor Gayle McPherson, Director for Community Engagement and Legacy
Gayle is Professor of Events and Cultural Policy at the University of the West of Scotland, where she is Director of the Research Centre for Culture, Sport and Events. She served on the Board of Creative Scotland and as Legacy and Cultural Adviser to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and Paisley’s UK City of Culture 2021 bid. She is currently a member of the European Cultural Parliament and the British Council of Scotland Advisory Group, and has acted as an advisor to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Scottish and UK Governments, local authorities and sport organisations including Scottish Disability Sport and IPC Canada. She led a research team at the Glasgow 2014 Games, investigating the impact and legacy of the Games on volunteers and attitudes to disability and is currently setting up a research legacy network to inform Commonwealth Games policy and the social impact of Glasgow 2026.
Rob Shorthouse, Director for Public Relations and Communications
Strategy and Communications Director for the English Schools Foundation, one of the largest school groups in Asia, Rob has held senior communications, strategy and consulting roles across the UK, Hong Kong and the Middle East, with a background in government and political campaigns. As Managing Director at Teneo Strategy, he provided strategic counsel to a high-profile government account in Abu Dhabi. Prior to that, as Partner and Head of Asia-Pacific at Consulum, he led the successful ‘Relaunch Hong Kong’ campaign. Rob has also held senior communications roles with ScotRail Alliance, Strathclyde Police and the Scottish Football Association. He was Director of Communications for the ‘Better Together’ campaign during the Scottish Independence Referendum, has advised the Scottish First Minister and worked in the UK Prime Minister’s media team and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Niall Elliott, Honorary Medical Adviser
Birmingham 2022 was Niall’s fourth Games as Chief Medical Officer for Team Scotland, a role he has also taken on for the British Olympic Association (BOA) at four Summer and Winter Olympic Games, most recently at Rio 2016. He has been appointed on a year-round basis by the BOA since the lead in to Tokyo 2020, alongside his current position as the Head of Sports Medicine at the sportscotland Institute of Sport.
Carolyn Morgan, Honorary Legal Adviser
As Honorary Legal Adviser Carolyn Morgan is responsible for providing advice on legal and constitutional issues in terms of Company and Team Scotland related activities.
Carolyn is an experienced lawyer and Partner at Weightmans LLP, based in Glasgow. She is dual-qualified and so qualified to practise in Scotland as well as England and Wales. She mainly handles a broad range of civil disputes, having specialised in litigation in Scotland for over 20 years. Carolyn is also a qualified mediator and has undertaken the role as honorary legal adviser to the CGS Board since 2012.
Carolyn has been involved in dealing with a number of sports-related matters including anti-doping issues. Carolyn enjoys playing golf and tennis, which she plays at a competitive level, having regularly represented her county at senior level.