High Life Highland welcomes new Board and Trading Board members

A group of eight people are gathered round a coffee table. To the left a man and a woman are sitting on a black sofa, to the right is a woman and a man sitting on a black sofa. Behind the four seated people are four men standing. Everyone is dressed smartly and looking at the camera.
News and blogs
31st Aug 2022
Last update 25th Feb 2026

Coming together for the first face-to-face meetings in over two years today, High Life Highland Chair Mark Tate was delighted to announce the appointment of a number of new Board members to its main charity Board and Trading Board.  

Marianne Hutchison and Sarah Rawlings were appointed to the Board of High Life Highland as The Highland Council elected members last month, with Andrew Jarvie and Biz Campbell being re-appointed by The Highland Council, also as elected members.  

Highland Council members

The High Life Highland Board consists of four elected members from The Highland Council and eight independent Directors, who each bring a wealth of skills. As directors of one of the largest charities in the Highlands, the Board members are responsible for leading the strategic direction of the organisation and meet several times a year.  

High Life Highland is a charity registered in Scotland, formed in October 2011 by The Highland Council. It develops and promotes opportunities in culture, learning, sport, leisure, health and wellbeing throughout the Highlands, for both residents and visitors. The charity’s Board provides extensive experience of public, private and development agency backgrounds which is a perfect complement for the scope of High Life Highland’s work. 

Mark Tate, chair of the High Life Highland Board said: 

“We warmly welcome Andrew and Biz back to the High Life Highland Board and look forward to their continued excellent contribution. It is great to also welcome two new non-Executive Directors Marianne and Sarah and I know that their breadth of experience will be a great asset to the charity. Our close partnership with The Highland Council is really important and myself and the Board look forward to Andrew, Biz, Marianne and Sarah helping us strengthen those links with our most important partner even more.” 

Trading Board members

High Life Highland is also delighted to announce the appointment of two new members to the charity’s Trading Board who were also welcomed to their first meeting yesterday. They are David Beaton and Michael Boylan who have joined as Independent Directors of High Life Highland (Trading) C.I.C.  

The Directors of High Life Highland’s Trading Company, which aims to generate a profit to gift back to the charity, are responsible for leading the non-charitable, trading business of the organisation and meet several times each year. The Trading Board consists of four directors from the main Board and five independent directors, who bring with them a wealth of skills from the worlds of business, commercial, public, and third sector.  

A man in a dark suit wearing a white shirt and tie. He is standing in front of a table. Behind on the pale cream wall is the High Life Highland logo.
Michael Golding

High Life Highland Chair of the Trading Board Michael Golding said:  

“It is vitally important to have skilled and committed Directors while maintaining a balanced geographical representation on the trading board. David and Michael bring just that, with a wealth of skills and experience from the world of business and commerce across the Highlands.   

“It’s an important time to have new members join the Trading Board, with several key projects progressing – from the recently opened North Coast Visitor Centre in Thurso to our current works at Inverness Castle, which is due to open as a world-leading tourist attraction in 2025.” 

High Life Highland Boards

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