Welcome to the July 2025 edition of DIGIT’s Movers and Shakers!

Last month saw a flurry of activity in the Scottish tech ecosystem, with top-level appointments and major partnerships.

This month features some key government partnerships and appointments, as well as a major partnership between Techscaler and The Venture Labs.

Read on to find out more.

Appointments

Scot Gov Appoints Chief Scientific Advisor

Professor Calum Semple OBE has been appointed the Scottish Government’s next Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA), who will take up the position on the 5th of August on an initial three-year term.

Professor Semple is a Consultant in Paediatric Respiratory Medicine at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and became Professor of Outbreak Medicine and Child Health at the University of Liverpool in 2018.

He has held key advisory roles during public health emergencies, serving as a UK Government adviser during the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic, on the World Health Organisation Scientific Advisory Committee during the Ebola Emergency and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies during the Covid pandemic.

Read more here. 

Ingenza Appoints New CEO

Ingenza Limited, a technology driven contract research, development and manufacturing organisation (CRDMO), has announced the appointment of Nick Challoner as its new chief executive officer, effective October 1, 2025.

Challoner brings over 30 years of experience in business leadership, innovation, and commercial strategy and execution across the chemical and biotechnology sectors, and has operated internationally in Europe, The Americas, and Asia Pacific.

Challoner most recently served as group chief scientific officer at Croda International Plc, a FTSE 100 company, where he was responsible for the development and execution of global R&D strategy in line with longer-term commercial objectives relating to innovation and sustainability.

Read more here.

Great British Energy Appoints CEO

A new permanent chief executive officer for Great British Energy has been appointed, bringing private sector experience to the publicly-owned company aiming to make the UK a clean energy superpower.

Dan McGrail will serve as the new CEO of Great British Energy; McGrail previously served as chief executive of RenewableUK and CEO of Siemens Engines.

Under his stewardship as interim CEO for the last four months, McGrail has helped set up the company. This includes announcing £1 billion for Great British Energy to invest in clean energy supply chains such as electric cables and floating offshore wind platforms to ensure the clean energy revolution is built here in Britain.

Read more here. 

Bright Ascension Appoints New CEO

Scottish space tech firm Bright Ascension has secured more than £2.3 million in what is proving to be a busy period of growth, with the company also welcoming the appointment of a new CEO and the launch of a five-year strategic plan.

In a show of continued backing, existing investor Capital for Colleagues has swapped £1 million in short-term loans for convertible notes, deepening its stake in the space-software provider, with a further £600,000 coming from Scottish Enterprise, £600,000 from Harrock Capital Partners, and £150,000 from T J Morris (Investments) Ltd.

Bright Ascension, which counts offices across Edinburgh and Dundee, intends to use the funds to deliver an expanded portfolio of its HELIX suite of satellite software products, strengthen its international sales capabilities and pursue further innovation.

Read more here. 

Cybersecurity Business Network Appoints New Chair

The Cybersecurity Business Network (CBN), a UK coalition of cybersecurity organisations has announced the appointment of former UK minister for Digital and Broadband, Matt Warman, as chair of the CBN.

Warman’s appointment comes at a critical time for the UK’s cybersecurity sector, as recent high-profile cyber-attacks across sectors have underscored the urgent need for enhanced industry collaboration, resilience and the right regulatory approach.

As chair, Warman will spearhead the continued growth of the network, engaging various stakeholders from the private and public sectors, and championing the UK cyber sector as CBN aims to become a single unifying voice for UK based cyber organisations.

Read more here.

Sue Dawe has been appointed EY Scotland Managing Partner, succeeding Ally Scott after his six-year tenure as he moves into a UK & Ireland leadership role.

After six years as Scotland Managing Partner, Ally Scott takes up a new role within EY as the firm’s UK & Ireland Clients & Industries Leader, whilst maintaining a close connectivity to the market and clients through his M&A and EY Entrepreneur of the Year roles at the Firm.

Sue Dawe, who currently leads the firm’s Scottish financial services business, has been appointed its new Scotland Managing Partner, with responsibility for the leadership and direction of the entire EY business across the country.

Dawe has led Scotland’s financial services business locally since 2016 during which time the team grown from 120 to 420 professionals across audit, tax, strategy and transactions and consulting. Her extensive knowledge of EY, strong leadership experience and established profile in the market make her the ideal candidate to lead EY Scotland into its next chapter of growth.

Read more here.

Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster appoints Chair to Advisory Board

The Executive Committee of Scotland’s Critical Technologies Supercluster Advisory Board has appointed Alan Anderson, senior director of R&D at Optos, as Chair. 

The Advisory Board was set up in May 2025 to provide strategic guidance on activities under the supercluster initiative, an approach developed in partnership between Technology Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, University of Glasgow and University of Strathclyde. The initiative has a stated ambition to grow revenues beyond £10bn by 2035 with a focus on key areas such as skills development, investment, scale up, internationalisation and collaboration.

Richard Lochhead, Minister for Business and Employment shared his congratulations and added that he looks forward to working with the advisory board as we focus on delivering our shared ambitions for the supercluster.

Vapour, a cutting-edge digital platform revolutionising spirits production, is advancing its next phase of growth. Operated by Speyside Labs Ltd, Vapour is expanding its global market presence through strengthened strategic leadership by its Managing Directors, Stephen Hamilton and William Binnie.

Stephen Hamilton, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and William Binnie, Chief Operating Officer (COO), will jointly lead Speyside Labs, combining technology innovation with digital business strategy expertise to advance the company’s goals.

Through Vapour, Speyside Labs currently serves a diverse range of customers across Scotland, Norway, Ireland, Australia, and beyond, demonstrating the broad international appeal and impact of its solutions.

Johnston Carmichael appoints new Head of Technology and Life Sciences

Independent accountancy and business advisory firm Johnston Carmichael has appointed ecosystem expert Calum Purdie as its new Head of Technology and Life Sciences.

Calum, who joined Johnston Carmichael two years ago, succeeds partner Shaun Millican, who is now Head of Business Advisory and sits on the Board.

Initially appointed to the firm as technology and life sciences ecosystem manager, Calum brings 10 years’ experience of working with high growth businesses and investors. Previously, he worked in the advisory space supporting private equity and VC investors across the UK, Europe and US with technology due diligence services before working for Tech Nation, a government funded organisation, as scaleup engagement manager for Scotland.

Nexos appoints new Chief Executive

Nexos, an integrated provider of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to the energy sector, has appointed Scott McGinigal as its new Chief Executive with immediate effect.

McGinigal is a chartered process engineer with more than 30 years of industry experience and brings deep technical knowledge and a strong track record of leadership across complex energy projects. 

He joins from Spirit Energy, where he served as Technical Services & HSES Director, leading multidisciplinary teams spanning engineering, drilling, operations, decommissioning and projects across both offshore and onshore assets.

ClearSky Logic Makes Duo of Commercial Hires

ClearSky Logic has made a duo of commercial hires as the technology consulting and implementation group continues to see AI power its revenue. Darren Auld-led ClearSky is expected to report doubled annual revenue next month, with CEO Auld noting a shift from supporting VC-backed startups to larger corporates with sales of between £10 and £100 million.

Darren Auld, CEO and Co-founder of ClearSky Logic, said: “What we’ve found, and how we’ve iterated as a business, is that SMEs to larger corporates who successfully implement AI are experiencing exponential growth, and we’re supporting them right through that journey.”

John-Paul Hughes has joined ClearSky as Head of Commercial, joining from digital transformation specialist Equator, with Georgina Hart also joining ClearSky’s commercial team, as Marketing and Events Manager.

Partnerships

Aveni Launches Financial Services Industry Group

Edinburgh-based fintech firm Aveni has launched a new industry group to help shape the future of AI in financial services.

Bringing together C-suite executives from the UK’s wealth management and financial planning sector, Aveni’s Customer Advisory Board will provide cross-sector collaboration with the inaugural meeting focused on emerging trends in AI, operational innovation, the regulatory landscape, and the needs of the financial advice sector.

Leaders from Succession Wealth (Aviva), Schroders Personal Wealth, 7IM, and Rathbones took part in the discussions, sharing insights around strategies of AI adoption at scale, factors limiting growth, and the role of the financial adviser in an increasingly agentic world.

Read more here.

CGI Partners with NHS Scotland for Digital Front Door

CGI is set to work in partnership with NHS Scotland to deliver a user-centred ‘Digital Front Door’ to be rolled out as an online service for selected specialities within NHS Lanarkshire.

The Digital Front Door (DFD) will act as a primary entry point for patients to access the health and care services they need.

BJSS, now a part of CGI, has secured the contract to be the delivery partner for the technology with NHS Education for Scotland, the national health board responsible for digital health development and education across Scotland.

Th DFD is part of a key commitment laid out in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, the First Minister’s statement on Renewal in January, and subsequent Operational Improvement Plan.

Read more here.

NatWest Collabs with AWS and Accenture

NatWest Group has announced a new five-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services and Accenture to transform its customer service by accelerating the modernisation of its digital, data and analytics, and AI capabilities.

The collaboration will enable NatWest to provide more intuitive, engaging and personalised services to its 20 million customers – drawing on the combination of Accenture and AWS’s cloud and AI, and banking expertise to help anticipate and respond to customer needs faster and more effectively.

In parallel, it will further enhance colleagues’ skills and foster a data-driven culture through access to new AI technologies that empower them to more swiftly and easily serve customers.

Read more here.

UK Gov Partners with OpenAI

The UK government has struck a partnership with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, aiming to expand AI security research collaborations and infrastructure investment.

The collaboration also plans to find new ways for taxpayer funded services like security and education to make best use of the latest tech.

It comes as OpenAI deepens its commitment to the UK, with plans to increase the size of its London office to follow. The move will build out what started as the company’s first international location just two years ago, where research and engineering teams contribute to the development of frontier AI models, and support is provided to UK business, developers, and start-ups.

Read more here.

Techscaler Partners with The Ventures Lab

The Ventures Lab, delivered by The Challenges Group, is partnering with Techscaler to boost the creation and growth of Scottish tech businesses with a social or environmental mission.

By working together, The Ventures Lab and Techscaler aim to strengthen the pipeline of impact-driven startups in Scotland.

In 2025/26, The Ventures Lab aims to support 40 high-growth, impact-led businesses to grow and scale.

Read more here.

Eureka Solutions Partners with Caledonia Gladiators

Scotland’s only professional basketball team has signed a game-changing new partnership as it looks to ‘make it rain’ in its off-court operations.

Caledonia Gladiators has teamed up with fellow East Kilbride based firm, Eureka Solutions in a partnership that will help support complex behind-the-scenes processes at the club.

Partnering with seasoned pros, Eureka Solutions, will play a crucial part in the Gladiators’ long-term business plan: modernising its back-end financial systems to support its continued success as one of the UK’s fastest growing professional sports franchises.

As a trusted partner of iplicit – cloud accounting’s market disruptor – Eureka Solutions enables businesses to reduce overheads, automate routine tasks, and simplify financial operations, by providing a streamlined and user-friendly platform that improves financial management.

Sword Partners with Arnlea

Sword is delighted to have won a multi-year software development contract with SaaS company Arnlea. This partnership focuses on the development of Arnlea’s field inspection software, Nexar.

The relationship between Arnlea and Sword has grown from project work, through team augmentation, to a strategic partnership for core software development services.

Arnlea now have guaranteed access to technical expertise with dedicated software engineers, plus extended resources available from Sword’s wider development capability.

To ensure the knowledge of the original development team has been fully retained, Arnlea’s software engineers have TUPEd over to Sword.

Together, the software team are working on a product development roadmap to deliver regular iterations based on customers evolving needs. Arnlea are already reporting positive feedback from customers using their software products and apps, from both a quality and service perspective.

FullProxy Partners with AppViewX

FullProxy, a leading Scottish cyber security consultancy, is today announcing a partnership to deliver managed certificate lifecycle management services with AppViewX, becoming the first in the UK to do so. This strategic partnership, which began in 2024, will enable FullProxy to provide cutting-edge, fully managed certificate lifecycle automation and crypto-agility to its clients, addressing the growing challenges of certificate management in an evolving security landscape.

With the emergence of quantum computing and the industry-wide shift towards shorter SSL/TLS certificate lifespans – such as the recent CA/Browser Forum vote to lower certificate lifecycles to 47 days by 2029 – businesses and public sector organisations face increasing complexity in maintaining secure, compliant environments. Through this partnership, FullProxy and AppViewX aim to help teams seamlessly manage certificates, enhance security posture, and reduce operational burdens.

CreateFuture Partners with MONY Group

CreateFuture, a leading digital consultancy and delivery partner, and MONY Group – the tech-led savings platform behind household names including MoneySuperMarket, MoneySavingExpert and Quidco – today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate MONY Group’s technology capabilities and drive future growth.

The agreement, the result of a competitive tender process, solidifies a long-standing relationship between the two companies in delivering smarter, tech-led solutions across consumer financial services. The strategic partnership will see CreateFuture become MONY Group’s preferred consulting partner, delivering strategic technology capability across multiple disciplines.

CreateFuture will work alongside MONY Group’s teams, bringing flexible, high-impact capability to accelerate MONY Group’s technology roadmap and enhance customer-facing platforms. CreateFuture will also support the rollout of AI across the business, ensuring it delivers meaningful impact for teams and millions of users – making financial decisions easier, faster, and more personalised.

Awards

Abertay Uni Announces DARE Academy Video Game Finalists

Abertay University has announced the finalists for its flagship video game design competition, DARE Academy.

The six undergraduate teams will now spend the summer developing and refining their game prototypes, competing for the prestigious DARE trophy, as well as a grand prize of £5,000.

Among the shortlisted finalists selected by a panel of expert judges are Fishbowl Studio, Bonny Bandits, Final Prism Interactive, Cosmic Coda, Hyperfix, and Riverboat Games.

Over the coming months, the teams will perfect their concepts at Abertay’s Centre for Excellence in Computer Games, using the university’s professional studio environment to create playable prototypes.

Read more here.

Orbex Pre-selected for European Launcher Challenge

Orbex, the UK-based orbital launch services company, has been pre-selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) to take part in its prestigious European Launcher Challenge (ELC).

Initiated in November 2023, the ELC programme aims to support the development of new sovereign European launch capabilities. It was created by ESA to promote better European access to space and to increase the competitiveness of European launch services. It provides contractual and financial commitments to launch contracts for ESA programmes and possibly other institutional customers from 2026 to 2030.

Phil Chambers, CEO of Orbex, said: “Being pre-selected as part of the European Launcher Challenge is a milestone moment – not just for Orbex, but for the UK space sector as a whole.