ScotlandIS, the trade body for the digital technologies industry, has announced the appointment of Allan Sutherland, as its Grampian Co-ordinator.
Sutherland will play a key role in promoting and lobbying on behalf of the digital technology sector in the North East and Aberdeen. Home to tech success stories including Internet for Business, Codify and Inoapps, amongst many others, the industry is continuing to raise its profile and importance to the Scottish economy, in the North East
In 2014 Aberdeen and the North East is estimated to have contributed 12% to Scotland’s GDP, a figure which is predicted to increase in 2015. The region is one of the top 20 in Europe for value of economic output per head of population. The ScotlandIS Grampian Co-ordinator role was created in response to the growing importance of the area’s digital technologies sector and to provide a northern representative for its members.
In addition to his local knowledge, Sutherland brings over 35 years experience in the digital industry, Allan has worked for a broad range of companies including Oracle, NCR, Stratus and Burroughs. He has worked in a variety of areas in his career including information technology, gaming and cloud databases among others.
Sutherland says: “I am looking forward to the challenges that the role with ScotlandIS will bring. I’ll be using my contacts in the north east to provide support and to promote ScotlandIS members in the region.”
Polly Purvis, ScotlandIS CEO says: “We are delighted to welcome Allan to ScotlandIS and know him well from his years working with Oracle. With the growing membership and continued economic importance of Aberdeen and Grampian we were actively looking for the right person to represent us, someone with good local knowledge and contacts. With his experience of the digital technology industry and his connections and reputation in the area, Allan is the perfect fit for us. ”