Board of Trustees

Chairman
Rear Admiral Neil Rankin CB CBE began his distinguished career in the Royal Navy as a pilot, working his way up to be the Commanding Officer of HMS Ark Royal before finishing his naval career as Flag Officer Portsmouth, having served in the Falkland Islands as a Rear Admiral. Neil is also a former Trustee of Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust and former Chairman of the Scottish Seabird Centre.

Terry Smith trained as a Quantity Surveyor with Gilbert Ash Ltd, becoming the Property Development Director. After joining Forth Ports Authority in 1990, Terry was appointed Property Director when Forth Ports PLC was formed. Terry has played a key role in the regeneration of Leith and was instrumental in setting up The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Building and has also served as a Director of Leith Enterprise Trust, Leith Chamber of Commerce and Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Shirley Spear OBE has spent the past 35 years of her career in the Scottish hospitality industry. Together with her husband Eddie, she moved to the Isle of Skye with her young family in 1984 and took over The Three Chimneys Restaurant, now an iconic, 5-Star restaurant with rooms with a worldwide reputation. Having won numerous awards and accolades for her cooking, Shirley also led the way in helping to regenerate interest in Scotland’s food culture and heritage, along with its superb place on the culinary map of the world. She was honoured to be awarded an OBE in 2016 for Services to Food and Drink in Scotland. Throughout her career, Shirley has written and commented extensively about Scottish ingredients and food culture, along with the importance of the Tourism industry to the nation’s economy and business life. Shirley and Eddie have recently sold The Three Chimneys, retiring to North Berwick, where she will continue to be active with her business interests.

Lesley Williams has over 25 years of expertise in international sales and destination marketing. Following many years in the hotel sector, she has held prominent roles, including Director of Sales at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and Head of Business Tourism for Marketing Edinburgh, where she excelled in securing national and international conferences for the city. From 2017 until 2022, Lesley was with the BestCities Global Alliance, first as Market Development Director and latterly as Managing Director. Working currently as a business tourism consultant, Lesley is involved in local and Scottish tourism, and international projects with consultancy firm GainingEdge.

Carole Cran has been the Chief Financial Officer of Forth Ports Limited since 2018, and is a Non-Executive Director and the Audit Committee Chair of Halma plc since 2016. She is a Chartered Accountant and was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of Aggreko plc. She has also worked with BAE SYSTEMS, both in the UK and Australia, and also with KPMG.

Caroline de Guitaut, LVO has spent almost 30 years working in the cultural heritage sector. An art historian, curator and author she has worked at Royal Collection Trust for more than 20 years, where as Surveyor of The King’s Works of Art she is responsible for a collection of more than 700,000 works of art housed in thirteen royal residences including HM The King's official residences at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. She served as a Trustee of the Royal School of Needlework from 2014-2021 and is also a Trustee of the Hermitage Museum Foundation UK.

Commodore Mike Bullock OBE served in the Royal Navy for 34 years. He served in a total of six ships and submarines and his time ashore included appointments to the British Embassy Washington DC, the NATO HQ Northwood, Ministry of Defence London, and the Pentagon as the UK representative for Logistics. His final appointment was in Navy Command Headquarters, Portsmouth, where he had responsibility for Logistics and Infrastructure for the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, and Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In 2014 he joined the Northern Lighthouse Board as Chief Executive and now oversees the delivery of Marine Aids to Navigation in Scottish and Manx waters. He is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies, holds an MA in International Security and Strategy from King’s College London, is a Non-Executive Director of the Scottish Maritime Cluster, a member of the Hammermen of Edinburgh, and High Constabulary of the Port of Leith, a Fellow of the Institute of Transport and Logistics, a Trustee of the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh and a Trustee of the Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust.