Diverse backgrounds. Joint purpose.

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Alastair Davis OBE

Chief Executive Officer

Alastair joined SIS in 2009 to run the investment team and became SIS’s Chief Executive two years later. Alastair is currently an Investment Committee member at the Access Foundation and the advisory board of Scottish EDGE. In 2021, he was named SCVO Director of the Year – Third Sector by The Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland.  

Before joining SIS, Alastair worked in community banking for the Bank of Scotland, where he developed his broad and extensive knowledge of social investment. In 2012, he completed the prestigious Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management programme at Harvard Business School and in 2017 was awarded a Fellowship of the Chartered Banker Institute.  

Alastair was awarded an OBE for Services to Social Enterprise and to Charity in Scotland in The King’s Birthday Honours List 2024.

When not at SIS or on holiday on the high seas, Alastair enjoys spending time in the kitchen, working on his latest culinary creations.

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Ling Tsang

Investment Support Manager

Ling provides essential investment support to our customers. She brings with her more than ten years of experience with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Initially in retail banking at RBS, she shifted to business banking where she became a Relationship Manager Assistant – helping customers throughout the loan drawdown process. 

More recently, Ling worked in the healthcare sector as a business administrator, making sure all enquiries and transactions were dealt with in a professional and timely manner. 

Outside of work, she enjoys catching up with friends over good food and drinks and planning her next holiday.

Lindsay Lindsay

Lindsay Wake

Head of Impact

Lindsay joined SIS in April 2018, bringing with her 16 years of experience in advising and supporting businesses, social enterprises, community organisations and charities. Lindsay has supported many organisations in Scotland and across London and the South East to become more sustainable, either directly or through partner organisations. Lindsay also previously managed a grant-making trust and therefore has expertise in creating social impact communications, frameworks and measurement tools. 

Lindsay’s role involves managing SIS’s business support activities, including our workshop programme, one-to-one support and social enterprise academies. Lindsay and her team are often the first people new customers talk to when they get in touch with SIS. 

Lindsay loves living in East Lothian and visiting the beautiful beaches and countryside nearby. In her spare time, you’ll find Lindsay at the cinema, reading, swimming or playing the piano. Lindsay has previously volunteered with Oxfam and a community woodland. 

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Kieran Daly

Head of Market Building

Kieran started his career as a youth worker at The Prince’s Trust, devising and delivering training programmes. He has held senior management roles in business development for a range of arts, volunteering and youth organisations for over 15 years.  

Kieran was Chief Operating Officer at food waste and food poverty fighting organisation, FoodCycle. While there, he grew the organisation’s presence from 14 to 30 locations around England in under two years, through a social franchising model. He was also responsible for FoodCycle’s income generation and operational functions.  

Most recently, Kieran was Scotland Manager for Big Issue Invest, where he delivered a multi-agency partnership, engaging the private, public and third sectors in mentoring and lending money to early-stage social ventures. He is a keen cyclist who enjoys giving back by being on the Boards of Scottish social enterprises, MsMissMrs and the TIE campaign.

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Karen McBride

Head of Finance & Operations

Karen joined SIS in 2022 as Head of Finance and Operations. Karen is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA), working predominantly within the audit sector. Before joining SIS, she was an Audit Director with Johnston Carmichael LLP.  

Karen has extensive experience of working with key stakeholders to deliver on their strategy while managing budgets. Her approach is to develop a deep understanding of how an organisation operates and the unique challenges it faces. Karen is passionate about helping social enterprises achieve their purpose. 

Karen has spent periods of time working in both New York and New Zealand, combining work with her passion for travel. In her spare time, she enjoys planning her next adventures and catching up with family and friends over good food and drinks. 

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Julie Kyle

Market Building Manager

Since joining the SIS family in 2020, Julie has executed her passion for supporting projects that make a real difference to communities and charities. 

Planning and implementing large- and small-scale events is what Julie does best. Prior to joining us, she spent more than 30 years with the Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, overseeing arts and sports community sponsorships, as well as other stakeholder events.  

Julie has collaborated with a number of notable organisations, including the Edinburgh International Festival, the Great Scottish Run and the Scottish Football Association. 

In her spare time, Julie loves travelling, going to the gym and walking with her dog, Frank

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Jason Thomson

Communications Assistant

Jason joined the SIS team with over a decade of experience in the hospitality and drinks industries.

Our customers now benefit from an improved website experience thanks to his expertise. Jason spends the majority of his time creating engaging content, developing our websites’ functionality and optimising SEO. He also assists the SIS Marketing Building team, making sure SIS continues to deliver a high-quality service while we grow.

In his spare time, Jason pens his own whisky blog and writes for other publications. He’s also a cinema fanatic and looks forward to weekends with his young family.

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Harry Howarth

Investment Manager

Having completed a summer internship with SIS in 2019, we were delighted to welcome Harry back into the SIS family as an Investment Manager Trainee in 2020.  

Harry graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a First Class Honours degree in International Business, during which time he studied abroad at the University of Texas, Austin. Now undergoing training with ICAS to become a chartered accountant, Harry works to support our investment team and finance team. His role involves the completion of due diligence assignments, supporting the legal processes on transactions and supporting the portfolio management function.  

When not at work, you’ll most likely find Harry out on the golf course or spending time with his friends and family. 

harry@socialinvestmentscotland.com 

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Ann Donachie

Finance and Operations Assistant

Ann joined SIS in October 2023 as Finance and Operations Assistant, to support the wider team. A criminology graduate of Abertay University, Ann has held several finance roles and joined SIS from Sky where she worked within the content team dealing with entertainment-acquired content. Outside of work, Ann likes to spend time with family and relaxes by baking cakes and reading all manner of books.

Work with us

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Work with us

Join SIS, and become part of a team that’s laser-focused on our vision for an Impact Economy.

Our Partners

It’s thanks to brilliant collaborations with expert organisations, including social enterprises, agencies and funders, that we’re able to run high-impact funds and business support programmes.

Our Partners

Baillie Gifford
Big Society Capital
Cemvo
Cemvo Enterprises
Converge (1)
Inspiring Scotland
Peoples Postcode Lottery
Zero Waste Scotland