NECCUS is delighted to announce Dame Susan Rice DBE as DeCarbScotland 2024 Chair.
Dame Susan’s diverse career spans medical research, leadership in higher education, and banking. She currently chairs Scottish Water, Business Stream, and the North American Income Trust. With a strong focus on ethics in finance, she has also led the Financial Services Culture Board and drove the creation of professional standards for bankers through the Chartered Banker Institute.
As the first woman to head a UK or European clearing bank, she served as Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland plc. Her extensive portfolio includes roles as a director of the Bank of England, Senior Independent Director for J Sainsbury’s plc and SSE plc respectively, and non-executive positions at several other firms. She has also held the position of President at the SCDI and was a lay member of Court at Edinburgh University. Furthermore, Dame Susan was founding chair of Scotland’s Fiscal Commission, the country’s official, independent economic and fiscal forecaster and sat on the First Minister’s Council of Economic Advisors.
Recently announced as the inaugural Chair of the new Forth Green Freeport, Dame Susan previously led a business-focused collaboration on carbon reduction and a sustainable Scottish economy. She is an active participant in the UK’s Place-based Climate Action Network and chairs GEFI (Global Ethical Finance Initiative), which is currently engaged in the Path to COP28 campaign in partnership with COP host Dubai’s DIFC (Dubai International Finance Centre).
Dedicated to creating long-term value in business and enterprise, Susan has played a key role in developing various social finance and impact investing entities in both the US and the UK. Her commitment to Scotland’s cultural vibrancy is evident in her roles as chair of the Patrons’ Governors of Scotland’s National Galleries, Edinburgh’s Festivals Forum, and the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Alongside a number of honorary degrees and professional fellowships, Dame Susan is a Freeman of the City of London.
