Melinda leads the way in leadership skills - Nick Freer

Anniversaries can be a big deal. I had a notable one myself earlier this year, although in truth I was pleased to get it out of the way and into the rear view mirror. As something of an introvert, with very occasional extrovert tendencies, I’ve never been a fan of being the centre of attention. At the same time, I do think it’s important to acknowledge milestones in our personal and business lives.

Two of our clients had anniversaries of their own this month, with CodeClan CEO Melinda Matthews-Clarkson stepping down after five years leading Scotland’s digital skill academy, and the Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC), Scotland’s first Internet of Things (IoT) accelerator, marking its first year of operations.

Leadership is taxing, and this was particularly the case for many leaders during pandemic times, and Melinda deserves credit for guiding CodeClan through a challenging couple of years to come out stronger on the other side. As she sets out on a sabbatical that will include a spell back in her native United States, the word on the tech scene is very positive about Matthews-Clarkson’s replacement in the top seat, tech entrepreneur Loral Quinn.

CEO and co-founder Paul Wilson has had his foot down, in the best possible way, at the Glasgow-based STAC IoT accelerator since day one. The overall aim of STAC is for the industry and government-supported organisation to produce Scottish IoT companies capable of scaling and competing on a global level.

Internet of Things accelerator STAC marked in one year anniversary this week

Backed by top-tier homegrown and international corporates, STAC has already built a 24-company cohort, and last week announced a further round of impressive appointments to its executive and advisory teams. With former Scottish Enterprise chief Linda Hanna now in place as STAC’s head of partnerships, and with Meta VP for Supply Chain Sean Murphy joining a STAC advisory board that includes recently appointed Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan, the IoT accelerator has a powerhouse team to help guide STAC’s bold strategy to supercharge Scotland’s IoT sector.

One of the not-for-profits we advise, Digital Xtra Fund, was in the news this week around the 35 grants it has awarded to drive digital skills for young people across Scotland. We know from research that we need to get kids interested in all things digital at an early age, so it was no surprise to see a weighting towards primary schools in this year’s grant awards.

As with CodeClan and STAC, industry partnerships are key to Digital Xtra Fund making a real and lasting impact on a national level, and the Kraig Brown-led charity has some high profile corporate supporters - including Baillie Gifford, CGI, Chroma Ventures, J.P. Morgan, Accenture, and Skyscanner. What would be great, would be having even more companies step up to back Digital Xtra Fund. While the small team already makes an outsized impact, think how much more it could do with even more backing.

You would think it would be nothing less than a no-brainer for Scotland plc to invest in digital skills initiative, as this will help to create a virtuous circle that will benefit us all in Scotland’s future economy.

Nick Freer is the founding director of corporate communications agency the Freer Consultancy