ESEP Global Board Members
Mervyn Rolfe CBE, Chairman, ESEP Ltd
Mervyn Rolfe is the Chair of the Board of Directors of ESEP Ltd since 1999.
A graduate of both University of Dundee and University of Abertay Dundee, he served as an elected Councillor with Tayside Region and subsequently Dundee City Councils from 1986 to 2003. During that time he served periods as chair of Education, Economic Development and Lord Provost (civic head).
He has held a number of positions including lecturing in tourism and economic development as well as managing training programmes for the unemployed. His other roles have included Chief Executive of Dundee and Tayside Chamber of Commerce and Directorships with various economic development partnerships and bodies. He is currently the Convener of the new national Scottish Police Services Authority.
In 2000, he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by The Queen for his services to Local Government.
Joe Noble, Board Member, ESEP Global
Joe Noble is the Strategic Development Director of Macdonald Estates, a Scottish based property development and investment company.
A graduate of Herriot Watt University and a chartered Surveyor , he has over 25 years of experience as an economic development professional in the public and private sectors dealing with major projects and decision makers at the most senior level in business and government. From 2001 to 2008 he was the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer for Scottish Enterprise Fife, which had an annual turnover of £21.9 million and a staff complement of 50. From 1991 to 2001 he was the Director of Competitive Place and Inclusion responsible for the areas of economic inclusion, tourism, inward investment, environmental renewal and property development. From 1989 to 1991 he worked in Jones Lang Wootton Chartered Surveyors as a Senior Investment Surveyor. Previous to this position he worked in the Scottish Development Agency, City of Edinburgh District Council and British Rail Property Board.
His other roles have included the membership of East of Scotland Programme Monitoring Committee, Quality Scotland Board, Investors in People Scotland Board, Cross Party Working Group on Construction, RICS Regeneration Forum, Glenrothes Industrial Association, Fife Environmental Trust, Next Steps Foundation and Elmwood College Board.
Gordon McLaren, Chief Executive, ESEP Ltd
Gordon McLaren is the Chief Executive of ESEP Ltd, a company established in 1997 to manage and administer the European Structural Funds in the East of Scotland. Following an open procurement by the Scottish Government, ESEP Ltd won the contract to administer the new Lowlands and Uplands Scotland Programmes for the period 2007-2013. As an Intermediate Administration Body, ESEP Ltd plays an important role in helping maximise the impact of the financial assistance from the EU which for the new Lowlands and Uplands Scotland Programmes amounts to €645m.
A graduate of the University of St Andrews, he worked for many years in the former Strathclyde Regional Council, one of the largest local authorities in Western Europe, initially with the Further Education Department and latterly with the Business Development Department. From 1989 to 1991 he was a detached national expert to the European Commission, working as a desk officer in the European Social Fund Unit of DG Employment. This position also involved responsibility for the overall liaison and co-ordination between the European Social Fund (ESF), and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the Regional Policy Directorate. He has held his current post since 1995.
He has undertaken assignments in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria and has co-authored publications on sustainable development and financial engineering.
John Ferguson, Board Member, ESEP Ltd & ESEP Global
John Ferguson is Director of Development with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). With a staff of 130 SCVO is arguably one of the most successful companies of its kind in the world providing a wide range of non-government organisations representation, publishing, UK and European policy consultations, organisational development support, equalities and human rights programmes, and employment training for over 1000 disadvantaged people annually. With a membership of 1400 companies employing over 40,000 staff and a collective annual turnover of over £1.5 billion its societal influence in Scotland is considerable.
A graduate of Dundee in Social Work he worked in various managerial positions between 1980 and 2000 with specialist and educational human service NGO’s and Strathclyde Regional Council. Extensive international experience includes contributing to and directing a wide range of rural, urban and humanitarian aid programmes in Scandinavia, Russia, China, Africa, USA and Afghanistan. Current roles in Scotland include chair of CXS a commercial ICT company specialising in neighbourhood wireless broadband provision, chair of Spirit Aid an international relief charity and chair of East Ayrshire Council for Voluntary Services. Further board memberships include Quality Scotland and Kilmarnock College of Further Education. He is a member of the Highlands and Islands ESF Programme Monitoring Committee and the monitoring committee for the Interreg IV Programme between Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Working with the Scottish Government he is a member of the National Economic Forum chaired by the Minister for Enterprise and the National Rural Development Council chaired by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment.
