Our People
Our Senior Management Team
Ian Robinson
Managing Director
Ian has worked with Scottish Woodlands since 1987, working in a variety of roles with experience in forest management, harvesting, forest certification and staff management. Ian became Operational Director in 2017, Forestry Director in 2021 and Managing Director in 2023. As well as leading the direction of the business Ian represents the Company on a number of industry committees and forums.
Find out more about Ian in his video profile here
ian.robinson@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Alnwick
Charles Bushby
Central Region Director
Following a military career, Charles has worked with Scottish Woodlands for over 25 years in Lochgilphead, Dunblane and now in Perth, where he is the Central Region Director covering three offices from Argyll to Angus. He has a wide experience of establishing new planting of a range of native and commercial woodlands in both lowland and upland settings as well as harvesting operations, and responsibility for staff across the region.
charles.bushby@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Perth Sandpiper
Iain Calvert
Head of Compliance
Iain is the company’s professional Health and Safety Advisor, heading up the Compliance Support Team. He leads on the company’s Controlled Documentation, including the specific procedural and documentation suite within the Utilities division. He leads the scoping and delivery of the company’s compliance programme including Internal and External Audit Schedules for quality and safety management and specialist Utilities audits; rail and electricity. Iain leads on accident and incident investigations across the company.
iain.calvert@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Elgin
Alex Cranke
Regional Harvesting Manager
Alex has worked with Scottish Woodlands for over 10 years, first joining as a Trainee Harvesting Manager. He has experience in forest mensuration, GIS mapping, harvesting site planning & supervision, steep ground working, and commercial timber marketing. Alex is now the Regional Harvesting Manager for our South East Region, based in Melrose, from where he coordinates the team’s timber harvesting activities. This is a busy & competitive region where we provide timber harvesting services across a wide range of property types from farms and small estates to large upland forests.
alex.cranke@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Melrose
Andrew Crompton
Senior Land Agent
Andrew has worked for the company for over 25 years and provides wide ranging land management advice to clients covering estate management, formal valuations and wayleave compensation in addition to land and forestry acquisition work. He also has significant experience in wind farm option negotiations for landowners and provides advice on forestry matters to a number of renewables developers.
andrew.crompton@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Melrose
Neil Crookston
North Region Director
Neil has worked with Scottish Woodlands for over 15 years; currently as Director – North Region. He has responsibility for the company’s Forest Management operations and staff across 4 offices in the North of Scotland. Neil has wide experience in all aspects of forest management and site management of forestry operations throughout Central and North Scotland, particularly in relation to woodland creation projects, grant advice and forest planning for traditional estates and investment properties. He understands the requirements of managing projects to meet client expectations.
neil.crookston@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Fochabers
Duncan Gilchrist
Head of Division - Landscaping
With over 20 years in the Landscape industry, Duncan is currently Head of the Landscaping Division with responsibility for the Division’s Team and the strategic development of the business stream, as well as the portfolio of land within the Division’s management. He developed the Company’s residential Land Management strategy, with registration as Property Factors, and oversees the associated property factoring services, customer care and credit control.
Michael Hall
Operations Director SE Scotland, England & Wales
Michael has 30 years’ experience in the forest industry joining Scottish Woodlands in 1994. He has specialised in timber harvesting and marketing initially within the SE Region as Regional Harvesting and Marketing Manager and then across South Scotland. He moved to the Regional Manager role in 2017 overseeing all forestry activity across 4 offices responsible for the strategy, vision and development of the region as well as developing staff and work programmes across the region. Michael was appointed to the board on the 1st April 2023 as Operational Director.
michael.hall@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Alnwick
Dessy Henry
Forestry Director
Dessy has worked with Scottish Woodlands for over 20 years. Originally based in Northern Ireland, he is currently Operational Director, with responsibility for our North and South-West Regions. He is responsible for forestry and harvesting operations across both regions, overseeing the practical implementation of work sites and monitoring performance against targets to ensure efficient delivery of a high-quality forestry service for the company’s clients. Our North Region also includes the island of Ireland.
Find out more about Dessy in his video profile here
dessy.henry@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Dingwall
Casey Keller
Regional Harvesting and Marketing Manager (North)
Casey has over 20 years’ experience of operational forestry, in the UK and California, specialising in commercial timber harvesting including steep ground harvesting, harvest site planning, forest road design and construction supervision, forest mensuration and implementation of safe systems of work. He is currently Regional Harvesting and Marketing Manager in North Region.
casey.keller@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Dingwall
Andrew Kennedy
Regional Manager (Investment & Business Development)
Andrew has extensive experience in acting for Investors and landowners on a wide range of transactions, delivering a service which is sharply focused on the requirements of the client to achieve the best possible outcome. His specialisms include the pro-active pursuit and appraisal of commercial forestry opportunities. With over 30 years’ involvement in the Industry, he is well placed to identify your specific forestry Investment.
andrew.kennedy@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Dumfries
Adrian Kirby
Head of IT & GIS
With over 18 years post graduate experience in the forest industry Adrian has evolved his role within SW from Forest Manager to GIS & data specialist and is now within the technical department as the head of IT & GIS. This diverse range of experience has helped with the design of many unique applications for forestry including developments in GIS, data capture, processing & reporting.
adrian.kirby@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Head Office
Lynne MacDonald
Human Resources Manager
Lynne is a fully qualified HR Professional with over 20 years’ HR experience working in various business sectors. Lynne has worked with Scottish Woodlands for over 5 years and is responsible for the full HR remit, working in partnership with the Senior Management Team in creating and delivering an HR capability and strategy that meets with the needs of the business.
lynne.macDonald@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Head Office
Andy MacLachlan
Regional Manager - South West Scotland
Having joined Scottish Woodlands in 2011, Andy is Regional Manager for our South-West region, which includes our Fenwick and Dumfries office locations. Andy's team manages a diverse portfolio of commercial plantation and traditional estate Forestry together with significant involvement in woodland creation. Having extensive experience of these projects, from inception to implementation, Andy has particular expertise in the creation of new woodlands. He enjoys working alongside landowners to integrate the benefits of forestry within their current business and is focused on practical solutions to achieve efficiency during project delivery.
andrew.maclachlan@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Fenwick
Craig Nimmo
Utilities & Landscaping Director
Craig Nimmo has worked with Scottish Woodlands for over 20 years, developing operations within the Utilities sector - railways and electrical-related operations, often CDM-regulated. Currently, as Utilities and Landscaping Director, he has responsibility for the overall management of the two divisions. Craig ensures that all aspects of operational work are compliant with client standards and government legislation, delivered by a skilled workforce in an efficient and timeous manner.
craig.nimmo@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Perth Utilities
Simon Oldham
Technical Director
Simon has over 30 years of experience working in the UK forest industry. Previous roles with Scottish Woodlands include specialism in timber harvesting and marketing as well as large scale commercial forest management. He is currently Technical Director, with responsibility for the provision of support services to operational staff across the company. His role includes corporate insurances, the Scottish Woodlands Growing Timber Insurance scheme, digital mapping and ICT, corporate promotion and systems development. Simon is also chair of the Borders Timber Transport Group.
simon.oldham@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Head Office
Matthew Parr
General Manager Projects
In conjunction with the SWL Directors and Regional Managers, Matt has been tasked with the coordination, activities and long-term strategy of projects in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Matt’s experience in both mainstream forestry and the utility sector provides an ideal core base of knowledge to deliver the demanding operational scope, coordinated management, high health & safety and environmental requirements associated with all types of projects in the forest industry.
matt.parr@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Perth Sandpiper
Jamie Reith
Business Development Manager
Jamie initially worked with the company as a woodland manager from 1993-2006. He then set up his own biomass company which he ran alongside the family farm until 2018. In 2019, Jamie re-joined SWL as a member of the Investment Team where his focus is on identifying woodland creation opportunities, working alongside key company clients and business development.
jamie.reith@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Perth Sandpiper
David Robertson
Director of Investment and Business Development
David heads up our Investment Division. Day-to-day he liaises with professional advisors, agents and a variety of other partners to find, place, and secure a range of forestry and land subjects on behalf of private, corporate and institutional clients. David has over 30 years of experience in the forestry industry, starting in the field, and he has been involved in Forest Management for over 24 years.
david.robertson@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Investment Division
Andrew Tuft
Harvesting & Marketing Director
Andrew Tuft has over twenty years of timber harvesting and marketing experience, starting his career in the Northern Ireland Forest Service in 1997, then joining Scottish Woodlands in 2004. Progressing from Harvesting Manager to Regional Harvesting and Marketing Manager, initially for SE Region and then South Scotland, Andrew was appointed to the board of Scottish Woodlands with the position of Harvesting Director in October, 2020, and then 'Harvesting & Marketing Director' in 2022. He is responsible for the management and co-ordination of the Company’s timber harvesting and marketing activities.
andrew.tuft@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Melrose
Richard Walker
Finance Director
Finance Director and Company Secretary of SWL Limited and group companies based in Edinburgh. Richard has been with the company since 2012 before joining the Board in 2016. A chartered accountant with an Audit and Assurance background, Richard is responsible for the company's finance functions, developing and implementing financial systems and ensuring regulatory compliance.
richard.walker@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Head Office
Stuart Wilkie
Environment and Certification Manager
Stuart has a wide experience in forest management across Scotland. He is currently Environment and Certification Manager, with responsibility for the overall management of the company’s Environmental Management Systems as well as forest certification, for forest management and chain of custody, to ensure corporate compliance and conformance to certification standards. He represents the Company on various industry groups including the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) Steering Group.
stuart.wilkie@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Perth Sandpiper
Megan Parker
Senior Forest Planner
Joining Scottish Woodlands in 2012, Megan initially started as a Forest Manager on the west coast of Scotland. She is now a Senior Forest Planner in the company’s North Scotland Region. Megan commenced her forestry career in California and has a range of forestry experience from both the UK and the USA. Although based in the North Region, she also provides mentoring and support across all Scottish Woodlands offices. Megan focuses on sustainable forest planning and responsible environmental management, particularly in relation to certification, woodland creation, and long term forest planning. With two professional forestry qualifications, and a MSc in Ecology and Environmental Sustainability, she understands the complexity and pressures for clients to achieve targets and find practical solutions to the climate challenge to produce well managed woodlands for generations to come.
megan.parker@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Dingwall
Oli Hands
Regional Manager - North East Scotland
Oli has worked in forestry in various capacities, for over 25 years. He is currently Senior Forest Manager and is responsible for the management of forestry operations across the North-east of Scotland. Oli has wide experience in all aspects of forestry management, particularly in relation to silviculture, the management of traditional estates and investment properties for multiple objectives, and woodland creation. Oli enjoys working with landowners to fully understand their unique management objectives and to tailor the delivery of sustainable forest management accordingly.
oli.hands@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Fochabers
Neil White
Regional Manager - Central East Scotland
Neil is a Chartered Forester with 17 years experience in forestry, arboriculture and contract management in both private and public sectors. His main areas of expertise are successful delivery of large scale woodland creation projects, estate and investor led forest management.
neil.white@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Perth Sandpiper
Alastair Squire
Senior Forest Manager
Alastair has been a professional member of the institute of chartered foresters since 2015. He graduated with a BSC Hons Forestry degree from Bangor in 2002 and has worked in the forestry industry since. Most of his professional career has been spent with Scottish Woodlands moving through the ranks of Assistant Forest Manager to Forest Manager and has now been practising operating as a Senior Forest and Harvesting Manager for over 10 years.
Alastair’s role in forest management on behalf of a range of clients over some 10,000 acres throughout Wales and central England includes budgeting work schedules to improve woodland condition and meet economic expectations of clients including harvesting and marketing/timber operations, restocking of felled sites, new planting/woodland creation and fencing. Detailed 20-year woodland management plans setting out and implementing objectives over the short and longer term. Felling Licence applications. Certification under FSC and PEFC. Digitising estates using arc-view and other map related services. Setting out, applying for, implementing and claiming for a range of grants in both England and Wales.
alastair.squire@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Chirk Office - Flintshire Woodlands
Eddie Addis
General Manager M&S
Coming from a rural background, Eddie Started his management career with Scottish Woodlands in 2000. He worked with the company for 11 years mainly focused on harvesting in Central Scotland and Argyll. After a period of working in senior management roles for other forestry companies he returned to Scottish Woodlands in summer 2022, to take up the role as General Manager for Management and Services. In his current role Eddie provides support across the business and assists with management of the companies larger clients.
eddie.addis@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Head Office
Charles Gittins
Senior Forest Manager
Charles is a Senior Forest Manager based at the Chirk office in North Wales, and provides a comprehensive forest management and contracting service in Wales, the Welsh Borders and the North West.
Drawing on over 30 years of experience in the private sector forest industry, and working with a wide-ranging client base, Charles offers an holistic approach to forest and tree care as part of farm and rural estate management.
In recent years he has been increasingly involved with woodland creation and the multi-disciplinary skills required for planning, consultation and delivery of new woodland projects.
charles.gittins@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Chirk Office - Flintshire Woodlands
Gareth Owen
Regional Manager - England & Wales
Gareth is a Chartered Forester who’s been with the company since 2008, working across south-east Scotland and Northumberland. His experience includes a mixture of traditional estate forestry, managing investment properties and new woodland creation. His professional interests include soils & cultivation, irregular silviculture and graduate training. Gareth’s current role sees him oversee forest management work within our England & Wales region.
gareth.owen@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Alnwick
Charlotte Cavey-Wilcox
Regional Manager - South East Scotland
Charlotte joined Scottish Woodlands in 2002 as an Assistant Forest Manager in our South-East region, originally based out of Head Office she was relocated to the regional office at Newtown St Boswells (now Melrose) around 2007 where she has stayed since, working her way up to Senior Forest Manager over the years. Charlotte is involved in managing a varied portfolio of mixed estates and commercial forestry. She was promoted to Regional Manager of SE Scotland in 2023 and looks after a large team in that area.
charlotte.cavey-wilcox@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Melrose
Morven Wilson
Senior Compliance Manager
Morven joined the Company in 2012 working within our Utilities Division. She moved into the Compliance Support Team in 2014 and has worked her way up to Senior Compliance Manager. Having worked out of our Head office for 10 years she is now based in our Elgin Office. She provides Safety, Environmental and Quality support and advice to all offices, divisions and staff. She is a key member of the Compliance Support Team and supports the Head of Compliance in delivering the Company’s objectives and targets.
morven.wilson@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Elgin
Emma Kerr
Carbon Manager
Emma is a Rural Chartered Surveyor who joined the Company in 2021 to take on the position as the Company’s first Carbon Manager. Her experience includes a mixture of traditional estate management, managing countryside stewardship agreements and validating Woodland Carbon Code projects. She now manages the Company’s woodland and peatland carbon project portfolio across Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, managing all aspects of Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code projects along with providing advice to clients, staff, and support to the Investment Division. Since 2021 the portfolio has grown, and she now manages a team of 3 in the Carbon Team.
emma.kerr@scottishwoodlands.co.uk
Dumfries