Mark Logan, Scotland’s chief entrepreneurial advisor, has announced his resignation after four and a half years in the role.

In a LinkedIn post, Logan expressed that it was the right time for a change, citing the toll taken by ongoing political criticism as one factor in his decision, stating that “although I am not in a political role, I am increasingly becoming a target for some in the right-wing of Scottish politics and their supporting publications, which, just as intended, has become draining.”

He emphasised that his departure was not due to any internal conflicts, and he felt it was important to leave while still passionate about the work.

Logan took on the advisor role in 2020, initially intending to complete the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (STER) and move on.

However, he stayed on in a bid to help see the report’s recommendations through, contributing to initiatives such as the TechScaler incubation programme, gender balance improvements in entrepreneurship through the Pathways initiative alongside Ana Stewart, and engaged in efforts to enhance computing education in Scottish schools.

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In terms of next steps, Logan states in the LinkedIn post that “during the next few weeks, I’ll fulfil some remaining speaking commitments and transfer ongoing projects into safe and very capable hands, completing these steps by mid-November.”

Earlier this week, Logan announced a new Scotland Deeptech Pathways initiative, which aims to give spinouts, deeptech startups, and deeptech businesses better access to advanced manufacturing capabilities in Scotland, as well as expertise in the field.