Edinburgh-based angel investment syndicate Archangels has announced the appointment of Ian Macleod as the new chair of its board.

The former investment analyst and fund manager takes over from Eric Young, who has held the position since 2014. Eric will continue to sit on the Archangels board.

Macleod has previous experience working as an analyst in London and Paris, specialising in the electronics and telecoms industries, initially with ANZ Capel Cure Myers and longer spells at both NatWest Markets and Jeffries.

Later in his career, he focussed on smaller tech, cleantech and biotech companies, moving into fund management with 360 Asset Managers and more recently Accessible Clean Energy. Returning to Edinburgh in 2016, Ian joined the Archangels board in 2018.

Archangels, which was founded in 1992, is a business angel syndicate investing in early-stage Scottish life sciences and tech firms. The company houses around 120 members and a five strong full time executive team.

In 2021, the syndicate invested £11.8m to reach a total of £23.6m including co-investment from Scottish Government agencies and other partners. There are currently 20 companies within the portfolio.

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Commenting on his new position, Macleod said: “The Scottish angel investment sector is helping to make Scotland a powerhouse in the life science and technology industries. Archangels are at the forefront of that effort and it’s an honour to take on the role of chair.

“While there may be challenging economic conditions ahead, by providing funding and a wealth of other support to our dynamic portfolio companies we can be optimistic about good outcomes for all our stakeholders.

“Under Eric’s chairmanship, Archangels has gone from strength to strength over the last eight years and I’m glad to keep his senior counsel on the board.”

He added: “I’m looking forward to supporting our portfolio businesses and investors, supporting entrepreneurialism and positively contributing to the Scottish economy.”

Eric Young, board member at Archangels, said: “With Ian’s long and highly successful career comes a great deal of experience and wisdom, all of which he will bring to the role of chair.

“Having worked with Ian since he joined the board in 2018, I am entirely confident that he is the right person to lead Archangels into the next exciting chapter of its growth.”

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