Meet the Management Team

John Paterson joined Scottish Canals as Chief Executive Officer from NHS Tayside, with over 30 years of dedicated and wide ranging, public service.

Having led several high-value capital and revenue projects, John’s creative approach to providing public value, whilst caring for our environment, has seen him; reconfigure public infrastructure, create new and improved public services and introduce new and innovative business delivery models across local government, healthcare, and environmental regulation.

A passionate environmentalist, John is also a Chartered member of the Royal Environmental Health of Scotland and Chartered Institution of Wastes Management.

Richard is the Chief Operating Officer at Scottish Canals. His current remit covers the operational management of the canals; project development and fundraising. 

Since joining the organisation in 1999, Richard has worked on a number of high-profile projects, including the Millennium Link, which saw the regeneration of the Lowland Canals as a visitor destination; the development and operation of The Falkirk Wheel; the delivery of North Glasgow’s Pinkston Watersports – Scotland’s first urban watersports centre – and the creation of The Helix and The Kelpies.

Amelia is an experienced leader working in the third and public sectors. Amelia joined in 2021 and is responsible for HR, health & safety, governance and developing place-based and third sector partnerships.

Amelia has previously led charities focused on young people, development and tackling socio-economic inequalities.  With a background in nature conservation, working for UK and Scottish statutory bodies, she has led organisational change and continuous improvement programmes to realise strategic objectives.

Sarah Jane joined the organisation in March 2021, and leads the finance, procurement and digital departments at Scottish Canals. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant with a firm in Glasgow, and moved on to a variety of external and internal audit roles. Since 2011, she has specialised in statutory and financial reporting, governance and compliance in a range of non-departmental public bodies.