Board of Directors

Douglas McAdam has spent the last 30 years in private commercial business at senior management and Board level across the aviation, utilities and land management sectors, both internationally and in the UK. From 2006 to 2017 he was CEO of Scottish Land & Estates and played a very active role across the land management, rural business and conservation sectors in Scotland, with hands-on involvement in many industry groups and forums. Doug bases himself between Perthshire, Assynt and the Balkans and owns and runs his own business operating in the tourism, consultancy and property sectors. Doug is currently a Non-Executive Director of several Boards, private and public, including Cairngorms National Park Authority. He is currently Chairman of Countryside Learning Scotland, South Grampian Deer Management Group and Wild Deer Best Practice (Scotland). Outside of work Doug spends most of his time on a mountain bike, climbing mountains, deer stalking or in a pack raft after wily brown trout. 

Angela is the owner of Glenloy Wildlife and is a long-standing Director of Wild Scotland. Angela’s key strengths focus on best practice, sustainable tourism and include guide and operator experience in the sector.

Angela is a great networker and is based in Fort William.

Matt is the founder and owner of Primal Adventures, a fast-growing adventure tourism business delivering a range of activities from bushcraft to training and wilderness experiences. Matt is passionate about encouraging young people into the outdoors and into the industry. He is also passionate about sharing his own skills and experience with the civilian world. He is an excellent communicator and collaborator with a valuable network across Scotland, particularly in the west. Matt served for 22 years in the military reaching the rank of Sergeant Major. He has led expeditions all around the world, finally bringing his passion for the outdoors back to Scotland. Matt was also attached to the Royal Marines training where he spent 6 years in Norway on joint winter exercises. 

Executive Director of the EUROPARC Federation, the principle membership association for Europe's parks and protected areas.  Previously Carol worked as a Countryside Ranger and laterally Manager of the Pentland Hills Regional Park.

Carol is conversant in environmental, land management and sustainability agenda at both a Scottish and European level.

Being a trained teacher and ecologist Carol has a particular focus and expertise on communications, capacity building and training and is the principal creative force behind most of the communications outputs of EUROPARC Federation, including an award-winning film on Sustainable Tourism.

EUROPARC created and manages the European Charted for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Area, an internationally recognised tool to deliver sustainable tourism as a partnership between tourism businesses, local communities and protected areas. All with the goals of creating sustainable destinations that are both good for business and for nature.

EUROPARC has just developed the STAR awards a new award for sustainable tourism businesses working to conserve and protect the landscapes within which they work.  

Dr Steve Taylor is employed as the Director of the Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research at West Highland College, UHI. Steve’s core responsibilities are the development and management of major trans-national sustainable tourism projects, undertaking tourism consultancy projects, PhD supervision and researching and writing academic papers on a range of tourism subjects, from cycling to the development of ‘slow adventure’.

You can find out more here >

Hamish is the head of rural property at Shephard and Wedderburn. 

As part of our recruitment process, we were looking specifically for legal skills and are delighted to have Hamish as an adviser to the Board. 

Hamish lean is one of the North East's leaders in rural law, Hamish is top ranked in his field by the leading independent legal directories Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500. 

Highly regarded for his experience and depth of knowledge of rural and agricultural matters, Hamish is thoroughly immersed in the sector. He is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Agricultural Law, and he sits on the Law Society of Scotland's Rural Affairs Committee, the NFUS Legal and Technical Committee and is a member of the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Association. He is also a Trustee of RSABI, Scotland’s leading agricultural charity.

Meike van Krimpen is an experienced Digital Marketer with a history of working in the tourism and hospitality industry. Having previously worked at Visit Scotland and for the Speratus Group, Meike has delivered national and international destination marketing campaigns, working with high-level marketing data and providing digital marketing consultancy within the travel industry. Currently based in the Cairngorms National Park, Meike works within the marketing team of award-winning adventure operator Wilderness Scotland. Here, she manages digital content, paid promotion and social media. Meike joined Wild Scotland as a non-executive director in 2020, after volunteering her time whilst on Covid-19 furlough. As an advocator of a healthy work-life balance, when not pondering spreadsheets or writing up travel content, you'll catch Meike enjoying Scotland's outdoors, knitting hats or cooking up a storm.

Tim is a Wild Scotland member and the owner of Wild Tree Adventures.  

Regional representation across the Board has been identified as a priority. We are still lacking representation across some regions and are delighted now to have Tim who represents the South of Scotland.  

Tim is an excellent networker across Scotland and is a finalist for the Scottish Thistle Awards. 

Prior to launching Wild Tree Adventures, Tim worked in the outdoor adventure sector for 4 years and also delivered creative projects in schools to children and teachers across the UK. He has exhibited internationally and gained a distinction in Fine Art Sculpture.

Tim is further qualified as a zoologist and has worked as a field research assistant and night watchman to the sole UK nesting pair of bee-eaters, counted parrots in the forest islands of NE Bolivia and scaled tall conifers to monitor Scottish goshawks. Currently, he is involved in a long-term project on rare raptor species. Tim's experience in monitoring rare and specially protected wildlife gives him an insight into the pressures facing high-impact tourist locations, complex issues of land management, tourism and the adventure tourism sector.

Scotland for Tim offers the opportunity for amazing adventure where inspiring landscapes, unique wildlife and the wonderful people who live, work and visit these places and who call this place home at some point in their life, all create a fabulous fusion of heritage, culture and diverse experience.

As a new and upcoming company operator in Scotland’s adventure tourism sector, he sees adventure and adventure tourism as a way to both inspire and enrich the lives of customers and employees alike. Employing local people and collaborating to boost the local economy, industry’s role in ‘reconnecting people with nature’ is vital across all generations and incomes as we head towards ever more sustainable tourism.

Yvette is Wild Scotland member and owner of Dolphin Spirit, Inverness

I worked in the Early Years sector for many years while raising a family.  Once they flew the nest a new challenge appeared. I got the opportunity to develop  wildlife watching trips from Inverness marina.

'Dolphins for the masses' was an early caption, soon dropped for obvious reasons!  We began with a team of 3 and 1 boat heading out into the Inner Moray Firth to see what wildlife lurked around Inverness.  I knew we had dolphins, but was equally delighted to see Harbour and Grey seals too, along with otters, porpoise and a variety of seabirds including osprey, sea eagles and Red kites too.

The boat trips were very popular and we soon expanded to include a fast RIB to provide a second, longer trip into the wider Moray Firth.  It's been 7 years now and we have seen steady growth in the time.  Covid has provided many challenges, but we have emerged stronger and busier than ever. 

I would be lost without my Team and who knows where the future will take us.

Russell’s career has been in Digital. He previously founded 55degrees, one of the first digital agencies in Scotland, developing systems and content for clients extending from the likes of National Trust for Scotland & Riverside Museum to Red Bull & Morrison plc. He has since consulted widely on digital transformation and productisation and is currently focusing on opportunities for Data & AI to support Net Zero.

Russell is a strong believer in the value of community and has supported the growth of the Scottish tech ecosystem through driving initiatives such as Product Tank Edinburgh, ScotStartups & StartupSurf. StartupSurf introduced tech workers from the central belt to the joys of surfing in Scotland and used that as a way to develop community through shared adversity and celebration of place. To support that initiative Russell trained as a Beach Lifeguard & Surf Instructor which introduced him to the community of providers which Wild Scotland serves. After a few summers guiding & instructing sea activities in the Outer Hebrides, he decided to deepen his involvement with the sector through Wild Scotland.

Russell is excited by the opportunity that Wild Scotland has to support the sector. He believes it is uniquely placed to help address some of the key challenges that society faces, through the activities of its membership.