Our Senior Leadership Team (SLT)

PENDING

Mark Egan is Group Chief Executive Officer. He has overall responsibility for all aspects of the College’s work and for Surgeons Quarter, of which he is a director. He has been in post since January 2023 and before that was Greffier of the States of Jersey from 2015 to 2022, with responsibility for Jersey’s parliamentary system. Mark is also an independent adviser to the Welsh Senedd. In his spare time, he edits the Journal of the Durham County Local History Society and is a season ticket holder at Sunderland AFC.

As Director of Examinations, Education and Faculties at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh since February 2023, Iain Forster-Smith provides strategic leadership across a diverse portfolio of education, assessment, and faculty support. Working closely with expert faculty, examiners, and governance teams, he ensures that the College’s examinations, courses, and accreditation activities maintain the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and innovation.

Before joining the College, Iain served as Assistant Principal of Student Life and Skills at West College Scotland from August 2017 to February 2023. In this role, he was instrumental in enhancing student support services and developing initiatives that fostered student success and well-being.

Prior to that, Iain was Director of Administration at the University of Bath between May 2014 and July 2017, where he oversaw administrative operations and contributed to the university's strategic planning and organizational development.

His earlier career includes significant roles at the University of Glasgow as Head of School Administration from January 2011 to May 2014, and at the University of Sussex as Programme Manager, Head of Operations, and Research Officer from August 2006 to September 2009. These positions honed his expertise in academic administration and operational leadership.

Iain began his professional journey as an Operations Manager at Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services from October 2000 to April 2006, and as a Transport Coordinator at Lloyds Environmental Waste Management Limited from September 1997 to September 2000.

The work of this directorate is integral to the College’s mission of advancing surgical and healthcare practice. Through strategic oversight and continuous enhancement of assessment methodologies, accreditation frameworks, and faculty-led initiatives, Iain and his team play a pivotal role in upholding professional excellence and supporting the next generation of medical and dental professionals.

Iain is deeply proud to be part of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and to work alongside a dedicated and talented team committed to advancing surgical education and assessment. Their collective efforts ensure that candidates, members, and fellows receive the highest quality support and opportunities to excel in their careers. The passion, expertise, and collaboration within the team are central to maintaining the College’s esteemed reputation and making a lasting impact on the future of healthcare.

Originally from New Zealand, Chanté is the Director of Heritage and Estates at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. She leads the strategic development of the College’s historic estate and its renowned Museum, Library, and Archive collections, ensuring they remain relevant, accessible, and sustainable for future generations. Before joining the College, Chanté worked with Scotland’s national collections, in roles at National Galleries of Scotland, and more recently National Museums Scotland where she was Head of Collections Services, leading teams across conservation, collections care, analytical science, digitisation, and research libraries. With a background in law, she brings strategic expertise to managing risk and safeguarding heritage collections. Chanté has a wealth of experience delivering capital projects including new gallery spaces as well as collection storage and access facilities. She plays an active role in the wider sector, serving on advisory committees for the Irish Government and UK Museums Association, as well as acting as a Trustee for the UK Collections Trust.

Scott Mitchell attended Forfar Academy and is a graduate of the University of Dundee with a MA degree in Hotel & Catering Management. An experienced hotel and hospitality professional he has held senior management positions over a 20-year period within the hospitality industry. His career has included positions such General Manager at The Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh and Resort Revenue Manager at Cameron House on Loch Lomond.

Scott joined the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinbugh (RCSEd) in February 2010 as Commercial Director to head up the commercial company of RCSEd – Surgeons Lodge Ltd. In 2018 he was appointed Managing Director of Surgeons Quarter (SQ) the commercial arm of RCSEd responsible for running the 24 versatile event spaces across the RCSEd campus, as well as Ten Hill Place Hotel, Edinburgh’s largest independent 4-star hotel and Café 1505. In 2020 SQ Travel was added to the SQ portfolio.

Scott is a member of a number of influential tourism and industry groups within Edinburgh utilising his wealth of experience to help develop and improve professionalism of the hospitality industry within Scotland’s capital city.

Mariette Naud-Betteridge is Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement at the College. After graduating from the Ecole Nationale des Chartes in Paris, Mariette worked as a library curator before moving to the UK in 2011. She worked in the Heritage and Information Governance department at Heriot Watt University before joining the College.

As Director of Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement, Mariette is responsible for the Policy team and the Partnerships team, who work closely to support the needs of College Fellows and Members worldwide and advocate on their behalf. Her teams, based in Edinburgh, Birmingham and Kuala Lumpur, drive a range of strategic initiatives such as the International Postgraduate Deanery, the SupportEd Hub, the RCSEd Global CARE initiative, the Funding and Recognition Opportunities portfolio, and the Women in Surgery group. She is also responsible for the Development team who look for new opportunities to diversify income sources and strengthen the College's long-term sustainability.

In her spare time, she loves defying the Scottish weather to look after her garden or go on long walks with her dog.

Paula Tovey is a qualified accountant and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of England and Wales. After qualifying in practise, she moved into the NHS, where she gained an interest in health and health outcomes. During her 20-year NHS career she was Fraud Liaison officer, helping the NHS tackle fraud and training staff on how to avoid scams etc. Training lead for each organisation where she ensured that finance staff were appropriately trained and that non finance staff also underwent training to understand their responsibilities and were accountable for NHS funds. She has an ongoing interest in training and ensuring that training is supported across the organisation.

Before joining the College, she spent 10 years as a contractor going into mostly public sector organisations to fix various problems they had encountered, training and coaching staff, creating cultures to promote finance within the organisation and building team development.

Her role at the college covers a wide range of enabling services, Finance, People & Culture, Digital Services and Strategic Change. These are part of the transformation programme that the College is currently undergoing and ensure that all the changes required are coordinated and support our strategic objectives and goals.

She is chair of the Delivery Steering group (governance for the change and digital programmes), and an active member of the wellness committee which covers both wellness and EDI implementation, and a members of a range of other committees across the college.