TASKED with bringing a “fresh approach” to the leading membership community for directors in Scotland, Catherine McWilliam knows that she must hit the ground running as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies and businesses, particularly SMEs, grapple with soaring energy costs and other factors.

The new director of nations for the Institute of Directors Scotland warned that while many businesses will “have to dig deep” to survive, other issues still need to be addressed. “Businesses are definitely fire-fighting and our job is amplifying feedback from our members to those who need to hear that feedback,” she said.

“The big issue, of course, is the cost-of-living crisis and the impact that is having on businesses but there are other issues, important ones like how businesses can be more sustainable in their activities, how do they become more diverse and inclusive, that need to be discussed. These can’t be put on the back burner.”

At the age of 34, Stranraer-born Ms McWilliam is not the first woman to hold the position of IoD national director for Scotland. She succeeds Louise Macdonald, who was appointed director-general economy by the Scottish Government in the spring and admits that she has been an admirer of her predecessor throughout her career.

Nor is she a new face at the IoD, having joined the team in October 2021 as a senior branch manager. Ms McWilliam has a decade of experience working in the Scottish business and third sectors, including roles responsible for corporate communications, membership management and professional development.

For seven years, she was a development officer at the Development Trusts Association Scotland, a membership organisation working with communities across the country.

“My appointment to director, as a young woman, shows ambition on the part of the IoD,” she said, noting it chimes with the way the world of business is changing.

“It sends out the right signals and is a strategic approach by a progressive organisation.”

Relationships, she pointed out, “make the business world go round”, adding: “It is relationships and speaking to people, listening to people, which will be so important as businesses navigate their way through the coming months.”

While she admits that many businesses, particularly the SMEs whose directors predominately make up the IoD’s membership in Scotland, will find doing business tough in the near- to mid-term, she noted that Scottish companies “show great ingenuity when faced with adversity”.

“Our SME business community is resilient and we are hearing that some firms in particular sectors are already looking at adjusting opening hours and ways to save energy,” she said. “Under my leadership, we will continue to provide support, while also broadening the IoD’s appeal to an emerging band of business leaders who are facing challenges they’ve never dealt with before,” she said, pointing to the organisation’s “small but mighty” team north of the Border, supported by “fantastic ambassadors” at its seven branches across the country.

With members including directors from across the business spectrum – from large corporations, the public and voluntary sectors, and start-ups – the IoD, Ms McWilliam noted, will continue “creating a space for business leaders to share experiences and by doing so, we can all rise up”.

Jonathan Geldart, director-general of the IoD said that Ms McWilliam “brilliantly reflects the tenacity of leaders in Scotland who have been working through one crisis after another over the last three years”.

He added: “Skills shortages, recruitment challenges and energy costs are all priorities for leaders right now, and Catherine is well placed to provide practical support and suggest innovative solutions to help assuage these concerns, or even simply to connect leaders with others experiencing the same issues.

“She brings fresh thinking to the IoD and represents our strategic direction, which is to be more inclusive and diverse. She will ensure we keep pace with industry, technology and a changing workforce, and build a more diverse membership portfolio which is truly relevant for the world we live in now.”