The appointment of Jean Lindsay, a former HR director at the Forestry Commission, and Martin McEwen, currently head of tax at SSE Plc, have been confirmed by Public Finance Minister Kate Forbes.

They join Revenue Scotland’s existing board members, chairperson Dr Keith Nicholson, Jane Ryder, John Whiting, Ian Tait and Lynn Bradley.

Welcoming the appointments, Dr Nicholson said Mrs Lindsay and Mr McEwen would strengthen the depth and range of experience of the board, supporting and enabling its function to provide leadership and direction for the tax authority as it delivered its corporate pan strategic priorities, as well as its longer term work.

He said: “Mrs Lindsay and Mr McEwen will be a real asset to Revenue Scotland. Mrs Lindsay has strategic, long-term experience in people development, change management and corporate governance in the public sector and also brings insight and knowledge of large-scale transformational and cultural change gained first-hand.

“Mr McEwen has a long career spanning a range of taxes at a strategic level in the commercial sector, both with SSE and at PWC before that. His leadership and notable work in tax transparency and responsible corporate taxpayer behaviour, both topics which he regularly gives talks on, will provide Revenue Scotland with an important knowledge base for our ongoing work in these areas.”

Responding to the appointment, Mrs Lindsay said: “It is a real honour to be joining the Board of Revenue Scotland. It is a young and dynamic organisation which has already achieved a great deal in its relatively short history. I look forward to joining the existing Board Members and being able to bring my experiences in areas such as people development, change management and large-scale organisational change.”

Mr McEwen added: “I am really looking forward to applying my background and experience in a range of domestic and international tax matters in my roles at SSE and at PMW. It is great to be joining Scotland’s tax authority - an organisation that has already built up a positive reputation in areas including tax transparency, collaboration, data sharing and promoting responsible behaviour among taxpayers. These are areas where I can use my own knowledge to provide support and advice.”