Stephen McGowan

Mr McGowan, who was named Lawyer of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2024, will take up his new post amongst a clutch of other new board members recently announced by the STA. He has worked closely with a number of trade bodies in the hospitality and leisure sector over many years as previous chair of BII Scotland and past president of the Benevolent Society of the Licensed Trade of Scotland.

Mr McGowan said: “I am honoured to have been asked to join the board of the STA which for many years has been the voice of the tourism and hospitality sector in Scotland. I look forward to meeting and working with my new colleagues on the board together with Marc Crothall the CEO. Scotland is famous the world over for its hospitality and warm welcome and I am excited to hopefully be able to make a positive contribution to the work the STA does, and to help unlock growth opportunities for the tourism sector.”

In addition, he has been appointed to the position of chair of the new Scottish government’s Task Force on Civic Licensing Reform. The group has been tasked with reviewing the licensing provisions of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 with a remit to produce a report with recommendations for possible reform of the legislation, now over 40 years old.