Leadership Team & Governors

Originally from Lancashire, Anthony studied at both the University of Bath and the Open University, gaining a Bachelors and Masters degree in Mathematics. After securing his PGCE, he taught at Giggleswick School for ten years. Anthony then moved across to the maintained sector, working as the academic lead in the senior management teams of challenging inner-city schools in Liverpool and Bradford for six years, before returning to Giggleswick as the Senior Deputy Head. He has always been heavily involved in the co-curricular life of the school; coaching rugby, athletics and strength and conditioning, and helping with the CCF. More recently he fills his time training and competing in triathlons and duathlons, and spending time with his wife and two daughters.

Edinburgh born and bred, Frances initially moved west where she studied Economics at the University of Strathclyde gaining a Bachelor’s Degree. Following a year’s voluntary work at a primary school in rural Thailand with World Exchange, her passion for teaching and improving education standards was ignited. She went on to gain a PGCE Distinction from the University of Glasgow. Frances started her teaching career in Surrey, before coming ‘home’ to Edinburgh in 2006 where she joined the ESM Family as Head of Business Studies, Head of Careers and Director of Sixth Form. She made the move to Head of Stewart’s Melville College in December 2022, having served as Interim Head since August 2022.  Since August 2026, Frances has been Head of Erskine Stewart Melville Senior School. Frances lives with her husband and son. Not one to sit still, when she’s not at a Peloton class she can be found outside, enjoying Scotland’s beautiful countryside with her family and pet dog.

Born and educated in Belfast, Mike left the Emerald Isle to study his MA in English Literature at the University of Aberdeen before then going on to take his PGDE. Teaching began in Aberdeen and Elgin before soon after taking up a post at Stewart’s Melville College as a teacher of English with a side line in coaching hockey and cricket. Mike joined the management team at Stewart’s Melville College in 2004, before later ‘jumping ship’ to become Head of the Junior School in 2016. He is married with three children. As a younger man, his two main interests were karate and cricket. There are still the occasional forays into the social side of cricket at Inverleith, but mostly time is taken up watching his and everyone else’s children perform on the stage or the sports field.

Sarah is an accomplished business leader, experienced board member and finance professional with over 25 years of experience spanning financial services, SMEs and consultancy.

Sarah brings a wealth of expertise in financial and operational turnarounds, cost management, business transformation, and governance. Known for her strategic mindset and hands-on approach, she has a strong track record of helping organisations improve performance, deliver measurable results, and build high-performing teams. As a former Board Chair and trusted business advisor, she combines commercial acumen with an empathetic leadership style that inspires confidence and fosters resilience.

Dan, originally from Surrey, is a seasoned Digital, Data & Technology leader with over 20 years of experience driving transformational change and managing IT capabilities across multiple sectors. Following graduation with an Engineering degree, Dan began his career at Accenture, consulting to major organisations such as GSK and Diageo. More recently he has held leadership positions at RBS & Heineken. Joining ESM in July ’24 he is really excited about bringing this experience to bear in the Education sector with a specific focus on using Data & Advanced Analytics to provide our teaching staff and leadership teams with better automation, insight and visibility. Dan is married with 3 boys, lives in Linlithgow and enjoys Scouts leadership, squash and going to music gigs.

Iain Galloway brings experience from an international investment career to ESM, having managed European investment portfolios for Standard Life Investments, before moving to the Middle East to build and lead investment teams at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds. Now returned to Scotland, Iain is an active Angel investor and advisor, holding various board and leadership roles. With several personal connections to the Merchant Company schools and having been a member of the ESM Parents’ Liaison Committee, Iain is an enthusiastic champion for the schools’ continuing successful evolution to benefit current and future generations. Iain holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the Merchant Company

Professor Linda Bauld holds the Bruce and John Usher Chair in Public Health in the Usher Institute, College of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and serves as Chief Social Policy Adviser to the Scottish Government. Her research focuses on two main areas: the evaluation of complex public health interventions, and how research can inform public health policy. She has also been involved in communicable disease research on Covid-19 and chaired Scottish Government advisory groups on Covid-19 and children and young people (schools and HE/FE) since September 2021. Professor Bauld is a Trustee of Diabetes UK and the Institute for Alcohol Studies. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Faculty of Public Health, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Academy of Social Sciences. She was awarded an OBE in June 2021 for her services to public health. Both her children attended ESM.

Chris Burnside MEng CEng MBA works as an engineering consultant with 30 years’ experience working in the energy industry.  He undertook his Master’s Degree at Heriot-Watt University and then worked internationally for many years on major capital projects before returning and settling-in Edinburgh. Chris has particular interests in diversity, inclusion and the promotion of STEM subjects. He has had a long association with Heriot-Watt University as a member of an Industry Advisory Board.  Chris has two children, his son has special-needs and his daughter was a former pupil at George Watson’s College.  When time permits, Chris enjoys hill walking, skiing and snowboarding.

Richard Cairns is no stranger to Erskine Stewart Melville, having been a Teacher of, and then Head of, History at Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College from 1991 to 1999.

He is currently Principal and CEO of the Brighton College Group, with responsibility for leading Brighton College, its four prep schools and seven international schools. Until 2024, he also served as Head Master. He has twice been named UK Headmaster of the Year by Tatler. Brighton has also been named UK School of the Year twice by The Sunday Times (which is unprecedented) and three years ago was named UK Sunday Times School of the Decade.

Richard was also the winner of a UK Social Mobility Award in their UK ‘Social Mobility Champion of the Year 2022’ a nationwide leadership initiative that recognises individuals who work to champion the advancement of social mobility.

Richard graduated from Oxford with a First in History. He taught in Oxfordshire and Edinburgh before being appointed to Magdalen College School, Oxford, as Deputy Headmaster in 1999. He left Oxford in December 2005 to take on the headship of Brighton College.

David Girdwood has a long association with the School, having joined ESM in 1987 as Head of Chemistry. He later became Head of Upper School & Director of Studies for S1 to S3. In the summer term of 2022, he served as Interim Principal. David has been a member of the Governing Council for many years. He read chemistry at St Andrews and went on to teacher training at Jordanhill (now Strathclyde). This was followed by an MEd at Stirling and the Scottish Qualification for Headship. He has served as an Associate Inspector with HM Inspectorate of Education. In 2002 David was appointed as Rector of St Columba’s School, Kilmacolm, serving for 15 years until his retirement in 2017. David was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Renfrewshire in 2009. He has served as Chair of Governors of St Columba’s, as a Governor and Chair of Education of The Glasgow Academy and of Lomond School. David is married to Lisa and they have two daughters, who are former pupils of the Junior School before moving to St Columba’s. He has a much-loved working cocker, Rhu, who is a retirement dog. David’s interests include rugby and walking.

Graeme was a founding Partner of SL Capital Partners, a private markets investment firm focused on venture capital, private equity and infrastructure. Since 2019, he has been a Director at 3 Bridges Capital, an M&A advisory business. Graeme is the Chairman of the TravelTech business Maison Sport and is also a non-Executive Director of Cypress Creek Private Strategies, a US-based investment fund. Recently, he joined the board of Octopus Apollo, a VCT investing in early-stage technology companies. Graeme is a Chartered Accountant, qualifying with what is now a part of PWC and holds a MEng degree from Edinburgh University.

Chris is a Chartered Surveyor (MRICS) and has some 35 years’ experience working in the Scottish commercial property market. Regularly advising clients from both the UK and overseas on the virtues of investing in real estate across the country.

Having been a Lead Partner with a UK based private practice, which was acquired in 2011, he (and three other Directors) set up Lismore Real Estate Advisors in 2020, based in Edinburgh. His connection with the School started (along with many other Dads) coaching mini-rugby at The Stew Mel Lions and continued as his son was educated at ESM. Lismore also supports the school, being a sponsor of the 1st XV rugby team.

His interests include golf, the hills, cycling and trying to keep up with Harry, the working cocker.

Fiona MacFarlane BSc MBA CEng MIChemE MCIPR is a freelance consultant, with several non-executive director / trustee roles across the charitable sector. Brought up in North Berwick, she studied Chemical Engineering at Edinburgh University, returning there to complete an MBA. She became a chartered engineer at BP before a temporary move into public relations and communications completely changed her career path. Fiona was Director of Communications at George Watson’s College. Married with two children, she loves her relatively new role of granny!
She has served as a Member of the Court of the Merchant Company and is both a Burgess and a High Constable of the City of Edinburgh. Fiona is currently Chair of It’s good 2 give, a charity that supports children diagnosed with cancer, and their families, through every stage of their journey.
In her spare time, she is a member of Southern Light, Edinburgh’s oldest musical theatre company.

Claire Macpherson has over 30 years’ experience in education, having begun her teaching career in the Scottish Borders before joining the ESM community in 1991. Having previously served as Deputy Head and Director of Pastoral Care, her experience to date includes significant work in wellbeing and safeguarding, underpinned by a strong commitment to inclusive environments in which children and young people can thrive. As a Director of Presence in Action Collective (CIC) and a qualified Coaching Supervisor (EMCC Global), she has a focus on embedding supervision within education to support reflective practice, professional resilience, and organisational wellbeing. Claire is a proud Mum of two ESM alumni, both now working in London.

Ross has worked in either construction or property related sectors over the last 30 years, working on projects all over the UK. For the last seven years he has been working with the Edinburgh based real estate organisation, Ediston, as their Development Director.

Lesley Meyer is Principal Educational Strategist at Education in Motion (EiM), an international education group of 14 schools, where she also co-chairs the Education Advisory Board. Having grown up in Edinburgh and studied at the University of Edinburgh, Lesley went on to build an international career in education spanning more than 35 years. An experienced Headteacher, she has held senior leadership roles in the UK, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Asia, and for six years was EiM’s Chief Education Officer, leading the Group’s educational vision and strengthening academic quality, safeguarding and professional learning across its schools. She was a member of the International Task Force on Child Protection and led accreditation visits as a Team Leader for the Council of International Schools. For more than 20 years she supported an educational charity in Zambia, helping to improve rural education and teacher training. Lesley has kept close ties to her home city and is a mother and a proud grandmother of three. A keen traveller, she loves discovering new cultures, a passion that has shaped both her career and her life beyond it.

Susan Murray LLB, Dip LP, LLM (Dist.) (Edin) is a Senior Litigation Solicitor working in-house with the Central Legal Office of NHS Scotland. She is accredited as a specialist in medical negligence by the Law Society of Scotland and is a Member of the Society’s Accreditation Panel for Medical Negligence. Susan has over 30 years’ experience of specialising in high value medical negligence litigation and public inquiries involving the NHS. She served as President of the Law Society of Scotland during 2024/2025 and is a Society Council and Board Member. She has also served on several Law Society Committees, including Equality & Diversity (Convener) and Audit. Susan is a second-generation former pupil of The Mary Erskine School, and her 3 children were educated in ESM. Her interests include travel, gardening and spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Alistair Stewart is an investment professional with in excess of 20 years’ of experience investing in and managing private equity investments. He completed his law degree at Aberdeen University before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, spending five years with KPMG. He then spent 18 years in institutional private equity and five years as CEO of a UK-based e-commerce business. He is actively engaged with the wider ESM network through his involvement with the Stewart’s Melville and North Edinburgh Vikings Rugby clubs. Both his son and daughter are graduates of the School.

David Stewart is an experienced cyber security professional with over 30 years’ experience in the technology and cyber security arena. Currently serving as Group CISO for a FTSE 100 business, he leads the development and delivery of enterprise-wide security strategy, governance and cyber risk reduction programmes.

Throughout a varied career, David has worked across multiple sectors and disciplines within technology and cyber security, bringing deep expertise in security architecture, incident response, risk assessment, regulatory compliance and stakeholder engagement. He also plays a key role in shaping resilient and forward-looking security practices at the highest level.

David lives in Falkirk with his wife. Outside of work, he enjoys exploring new destinations on holiday and is a passionate sports fan, particularly of Scottish rugby and football, often found watching matches and supporting his favourite teams.