John Maclennan

John joins the CSIC team from Scottish Enterprise, bringing a wealth of experience of designing and developing business growth programmes, including the recent SCALE Summer School Business Programme, benefitting over 300 Scottish companies.

He also brings with him a strong understanding of the funding landscape and economic development opportunities. Prior to joining Scottish Enterprise, where he led a multi-disciplinary team to deliver the Aberdeen Science Parks joint venture, John worked with Highlands & Islands Enterprise as a business development manager supporting companies in Moray. 

In his new role as CSIC innovation manager, John will help to drive industry growth in the regions by supporting companies in the built environment to collaborate and adopt the use of innovative technologies, such as digitalisation, offsite manufacturing and low carbon solutions.

Lucy Black, director of innovation and engagement at CSIC, said: “Now more than ever the sector needs to unlock new opportunities and apply innovation to improve productivity and profitability as we adapt to new ways of working. John has a vast experience in supporting business growth and I am confident that he will play a vital role in driving engagement and collaboration in the construction sector through the creation of innovative partnerships.”

Speaking on his appointment, John Maclennan said: “It is great to be part of such a high-energy team at CSIC, one that is committed to mainstreaming a culture of innovation and real transformational change for the better of society. The Highlands and Islands region is home to a growing construction and manufacturing base, and so bringing together industry, academia and public sectors will be key to driving change and growth.

“The programmes we will be delivering across the Highlands, Islands and North East regions will give better access to businesses in widely spread out and often remote locations, to help their development and growth.” 

CSIC was launched in 2014 and helps Scotland’s construction related businesses to innovate, collaborate and grow by matching innovation requirements with business support and academic specialists.  

Building on a successful Phase One, where CSIC supported over 300 collaborative projects delivering over £750 million of additional turnover to the businesses involved and creating and retaining over 4,000 jobs, it is expected that CSIC’s Phase Two strategy will build on this delivering almost £1 billion of additional turnover for businesses and create and retain over 6,000 jobs across the sector.