Judy Rae, the Head of Events at Glasgow Science Centre, has stepped down from her role after 19 years – to pursue new career opportunities.
Rae, who is also Chair of Business Tourism for Scotland (BTfS), left her post at the end of September saying she was “proud” of her achievements in nearly two decades with the business but now was the right time to move on.
She said: “I resigned at the end of September from the Science Centre but it’s all been very amicable; I wanted a career change but felt I cannot do that working full-time at the Science Centre. It’s time to put my head above the parapet and see what’s out there. I’m just regrouping at the moment.”
She said she was keen to look at a more strategic role, and would like to remain as Chair of BTfS although that would be part of the discussions for a meeting next month. BtFS was set up in 2012 to represent the interests of business tourism as part of the overall Tourism 2020 strategy, launched by industry body Scottish Tourism Alliance (and supported by Scottish Government) with the intention of growing visitor spend by £1bn by 2020.
The meeting between the key agencies involved with the Tourism 2020 strategy and its next steps – VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Tourism Alliance – is set to take place on November 1.
“It has been a huge honour for me to be involved [with the strategy]; Scottish Government didn’t know about business events before 2012 and I feel that we are now pushing at an open door. I feel very privileged that people are wanting me to look at that stuff [the next stage of the strategy is referred to as ‘Beyond 2020’],” Rae said.
She added: “I’ve done a lot and I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved at the Science Centre but I felt if I didn’t move now I never will.”
A spokesperson for the Glasgow Science Centre said that Rae had left the organisation in order to “pursue other interests.”
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