About Us
Team
With an expert understanding of our specialist sectors, our experienced team brings a highly personal, consultative and can-do approach to executive search.
We understand the importance of building relationships grounded in trust, transparency and collaboration, and we are always exploring innovative ways to source and secure the very best leadership talent.
Partnerships & Accreditations
We are the official recruitment partner of SCVO, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. SCVO’s mission is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in building a flourishing society, support them to create positive impact.
Aspen are delighted to work in partnership with The Melting Pot, Scotland’s Centre for Social Innovation. Their collaborative workspace and knowledge-sharing initiatives play a vital role in supporting and connecting individuals and organisations who are committed to making a meaningful and positive impact across Scotland.
Through their thoughtful approach to coaching and career development, Hanover Talent Solutions have a strong track record in helping candidates navigate and articulate experience with clarity and confidence.
Aspen are proud to be accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. The Real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate that is voluntarily paid by UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a wage which meets everyday needs.
Cyber Essentials is a Government-backed, industry-supported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common online threats. Aspen sees this accreditation as an essential reassurance for our clients and candidates that our IT is secure against cyber attack.
We are delighted to continue our work with The University of Strathclyde’s Management Development Programme, offering students the opportunity to contribute their skills and experience to real consultancy projects at Aspen.
Frameworks
The Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) is the procurement centre of expertise for Scotland’s universities and colleges. APUC’s vision is to maximise the value of Scotland’s investment in further and higher education by working in partnership with institutions to support and enable sustainable innovation in procurement and shared service optimisation.
NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) is a Non Departmental Public Body which provides advice and services to the rest of NHS Scotland. Accountable to the Scottish Government, NSS works at the heart of the health service, providing national strategic support services and expert advice to NHS Scotland.
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) helps the UK public sector save money when buying goods and services. As the largest public procurement organisation in the UK, they use commercial expertise to support central government and the wider public and third sectors in purchasing everything from locum doctors and laptops to police cars and electricity.
ESPO is a public sector owned professional buying organisation (PBO), specialising in providing a wide range of goods and services to the public sector for over 40 years. They offer comprehensive procurement solutions to UK schools, all with free support and advice available from our expert teams.
Ken Dalgleish
Non Executive Director
One of the best known figures in the Scottish recruitment industry, Ken was a founder of Aspen People in 2012 and continues to act as Strategic Advisor in his capacity as a Non-Executive Board Member. Before entering recruitment he was a Chartered Accountant with international audit experience with KPMG before becoming Finance Director at the adventure clothing brand North Face.
Ken originally entered the recruitment profession in 1989 with London based Norman Broadbent, progressed to Lead Scotland and the Northern Region before launching Munro Consulting Ltd in 1998, which subsequently grew to the largest independent executive search firm in Scotland. Having sold the business, in 2012 he established Aspen People Ltd with his long term colleagues Donogh O’Brien and Catriona Mackie and later led the acquisition of niche recruitment firm, Fortnum Select.
Ken sits on the Board of several charities including Trades House of Glasgow where he is currently Deacon Convener and ‘Third Citizen of Glasgow’ after the Lord Provost and Lord Dean of Guild. Additionally he is Non Executive Finance Director at Robert Burns World Federation.
Donogh O’Brien
Director
A co-founder of Aspen in 2012, Donogh is passionate about assisting people and a firm believer in going the extra mile in delivering a professional partnership service to both candidates and clients during and after each executive search campaign. Perhaps not surprisingly he began his career in the professional services sector, initially training as a CA.
Donogh has successfully transferred this industry’s fundamental ethical values of integrity, transparency and trust into the executive experience, adopting the virtues of continuous improvement, added value and generating impact through the provision of governance and leadership appointments within public life.
Since 1995, he has been instrumental in the recruitment of senior individuals to executive and governance board positions across a wide variety of sectors. Donogh holds a joint honours BSc in Chemistry and management studies from Royal Hollow, University of London, he is a proud father & family man, active with outdoor pursuits and a reasonable golfer.
“Having worked successfully with Donogh O’Brien and the team at Aspen a number of times, I would recommend them as one of the go to organisations for leadership appointments in Scotland and beyond”
Damien Yeates – Skills Development Scotland Chief Executive
Catriona Mackie
Director
Originally from Ireland, Catriona moved to Scotland in 1997 to work in the financial services industry before moving into a leadership and management capacity at various public sector tourism agencies. She joined Munro Consulting in 2009 specialising in senior public sector roles and extensively expanded her network into the not for profit and third sectors upon the establishment of Aspen People Ltd in 2012.
She is a qualified Accountant with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has a Commerce Degree from University College Dublin.
Catriona has worked on numerous CEO and Director level appointments within the Third and Public sectors, in particular the NHS and social care. She also has vast experience of working on Board level appointment of Chairs, Trustees and Non-Executive Directors and in particular, has worked with a number of Boards where advice on recruitment strategy has been required to offer effective, values driven and fair processes. Her passion is for finding candidates with the best cultural match and person fit for an organisation. She is qualified in psychometric assessment and has also been trained in assessment centre design.
“We have used Aspen’s services to recruit twice, for Trustees and a Chief Executive. Both exercises were successful and we were highly impressed by the responsiveness, support and results. In particular, the advice and professionalism of Catriona Mackie, was first class. It is evident that Aspen has a strong network and understands the Scottish public sector scene well. I would recommend their services.”
Alastair MacDonald – Victim Support Scotland National Chair
Nigel Fortnum
Director
Having worked right across the UK, including six years in London, Nigel has been a part of the executive search industry since 1994. Born in rural Galloway, where his home remains, his earlier commercial career brought 18 years in Agribusiness, working with some of the leading names of Agrichemicals, Pharmaceuticals and Animal Nutrition, and now provides executives search for clients within this sector. Since helping to found Aspen in 2012, Nigel has developed a specialist niche in Housing, where Aspen has earned a respected market-leading position.
Outside of work, he is a Board Member with Ancho Housing Association, which is a member of the Cairn Group. This enables Nigel to understand what it takes to run an RSL from the inside. He is also asked to provide insight on succession planning and attracting talent to the sector by the SFHA where he is a highly active Associate Member. In addition, Nigel is a mentor with RBS Entrepreneurs and also with Adopt an Intern – which helps develop and grow the next generation of business leaders.
“Nigel Fortnum’s enthusiasm, understanding of our needs and insight into the market ensured two successful appointments into business critical roles and a field of strong candidates to choose from.”
Julia Mulloy – Scottish Borders Housing Association Chief Executive
Katharine Price
Associate Director - Research
Katharine is an International Business & Language graduate from Newcastle University. After a successful career in marketing and administration, she joined a leading headhunting firm as a specialist researcher and has now gained over 15 years commercial and international research experience, nearly 10 years of which has been with Aspen. She is adept at conducting senior search assignments both in the UK and in Europe, together with due diligence research, corporate mapping and other related projects such as remuneration surveys.
Katharine has extensive public and private sector experience across all of the major functions and her industry experience includes Higher Education, Local Authority, Housing Associations, Agribusiness, FMCG, Aerospace, Retail, Manufacturing and Professional Services.
Lorraine Porteous
Associate Director
Lorraine is an Associate Director – Research (Health & Care). Qualifications include an MBA, M.Litt. Middle East & Central Asia Security Studies, also a qualified nurse, midwife and health visitor.
She has over 25 years’ programme leadership experience internationally and in the UK within health and education sectors covering strategic reform, policy design and implementation, health systems strengthening and stabilisation. A confident and diplomatic communicator with excellent networking skills, she has extensive experience working for and with international NGO’s/IGO’s and Governments within Middle East, Central Asia, Afghanistan, North Africa, South Asia, South Pacific and Eastern Europe.
Lorraine provides innovative solutions to complex issues which can solve clinical recruitment shortages. She can build in house capacity where clinical leadership capacity is challenged; her research has helped successfully recruit senior clinicians and candidates at CEO/Director level for Health and Care organisations in Public, Private and Third sectors. She is an Honorary Fellow and Guest Lecturer in the School of Political & Social Science, a member of both the Global Health and Global Development Academies and a mentor for students in the Business School at the University of Edinburgh.
Susan Helman
Senior Associate
Susan is a Senior Associate at Aspen People, supporting clients to identify, attract and secure exceptional leaders across executive and senior-level appointments.
With a career spanning executive search, leadership development and senior stakeholder engagement, Susan brings a relationship-led approach to executive search. She works closely with clients to understand their strategic priorities, develop tailored search strategies and engage high-calibre leaders who can make a lasting organisational impact.
Before joining Aspen, Susan held senior leadership advisory and executive development roles at Cranfield University, where she partnered with senior leaders across the public, private and third sectors on leadership development, organisational priorities and executive engagement. She has also worked within specialist recruitment, supporting organisations across education and health and social care to attract and secure outstanding talent.
Susan is recognised for building trusted relationships with senior leaders, taking the time to understand their organisational context and connecting them with exceptional leadership talent. Known for her warmth, curiosity and collaborative approach, she combines commercial insight with a genuine interest in understanding people, organisations and the challenges they face. She believes that successful executive search is built on listening, partnership and long-term relationships.
Alongside her role at Aspen, Susan is an ICF-certified coach, supporting senior professionals to develop their leadership capability, navigate complex challenges and realise their full potential.
Susan has a particular interest in leadership appointments across the public sector, higher education, charities and purpose-led organisations, where she enjoys partnering with clients to identify exceptional leaders who create lasting organisational impact.
Gillian Blackadder
Consultant
Gillian works alongside and supports our sector clients, specialising in Education, where she sources quality leaders to provide our clients with exceptional talent, advancing their organisations. Skilled in managing the end to end recruitment process, she has worked in recruitment for a number of years in Scotland and Asia in both public and private sectors. She has gained knowledge and experience while understanding different nationalities, cultures, work ethics, working styles and businesses.
“Working with Gillian to find my new position was great. She was really supportive, helpful and easy to engage with. I felt like I knew exactly what was going on at every stage of the process and that I could ask questions and would get a candid and genuine answer. That was really important to me. I’m so grateful for all of Gillian’s support and would more than happily signpost anyone in my network to work with her or one of her Aspen colleagues.”
Anna Vogt – Candidate
Lauryn Pringle
Senior Researcher
As Senior Researcher at Aspen, Lauryn leads insight-driven search processes across executive and non-executive recruitment, predominantly in the Third and Public sectors. She is an integral member of the Third Sector team and partners with clients to understand their strategic priorities and develop tailored search strategies, while guiding candidates through every stage of the process — helping them engage with organisations, explore the right opportunities, and receive high-quality guidance to ensure the best fit.
With a strong track record spanning permanent and interim CEO, Director-level, and Board appointments across Scotland and the wider UK, Lauryn plays a key role in shaping search strategy and delivering high-calibre, values-aligned outcomes.
Deeply committed to mission-led work, Lauryn remains actively engaged and well-versed in the sectors she specialises in through voluntary roles, currently mentoring with MCR Pathways and having served four years as a Committee Member for Headway, the Brain Injury Association. She holds a Master’s in Applied Neuroscience and a Master of Arts in Psychology from the University of Dundee, and draws on her understanding of human behaviour to build strong relationships, support candidates thoughtfully, and help clients identify leaders who will thrive within their organisations.
“Lauryn demonstrates strong confidence as a recruiter. Her transparency throughout the hiring process ensures that candidates are always well-informed, supported and confident in the process. Lauryn is very supportive, providing guidance and encouragement every step of the way. Her engaging style makes interactions enjoyable and productive, while their enthusiasm for finding the right fit for both client and candidate is a credit to her.”
Janine Hunt – Candiadte
“Lauryn approached me for a role that I didn’t even know I was looking for! I am so glad she did as I am now going into a role that I would never have considered myself capable of. The knowledge and passion Lauryn had about the role when we were chatting was remarkable and had me completely invested from the beginning. Throughout the recruitment process Lauryn was firmly in my corner and I felt completely supported by her. I appreciated the regular check ins and prep conversations. When I went to interview I wanted the role for Lauryn as much as myself as she had invested so much time in me. She completely believed I was the right candidate throughout and we were successful! Lauryn would send emails and messages of support throughout, even on the days of interviews. I felt that was such a lovely touch and I wasn’t just another customer. As I move into my new role I have recommended Lauryn to numerous colleagues and will continue to do so. I wish her the very best of luck for her future in recruitment and I am grateful for all of the support she afforded me.”
Linda Harkin – Candidate
Paul Rooney
Consultant
Paul Rooney is an executive search and business development specialist with more than ten years’ experience partnering with organisations across the life sciences, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing sectors. Throughout his career he has worked with multinational organisations, high-growth SMEs and innovative start-ups, supporting the appointment of senior leaders and specialist talent across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.
Paul is passionate about building long-term relationships founded on trust, transparency and a genuine understanding of his clients’ strategic goals. He takes a consultative approach to executive search, combining market intelligence, detailed research and proactive engagement to identify exceptional leadership talent. His experience spans board, executive and specialist appointments, with particular expertise in supporting organisations through periods of growth, transformation and international expansion.
Having led complex global search assignments, developed new client partnerships and delivered recruitment strategies across multiple international markets, Paul enjoys working closely with both clients and candidates to create positive outcomes. He believes that successful executive search is built on listening carefully, understanding organisational culture and connecting people with opportunities where they can make a lasting impact.
Kelsey Bettoli
Client Partner
Having joined Aspen in 2014 to take up a graduate role, Kelsey qualified as a PRINCE2 Practitioner in 2016 and has since transitioned to become a key member of the team.
In her role as Client Partner, she supports Aspen’s Consultants and Directors on the administration of recruitment campaigns from the initial research phase to eventual completion. This involves assisting with the administration of tenders, regularly communicating with both clients and candidates as well as organising advertising, social media, microsites and recruitment videos.
In addition, Kelsey arranges candidates assessment days and interviews and provides due diligence for the successful candidates throughout the entire process. She has delivered support across all specialist business sectors and many assignments have been at Chief Executive and Director level within the Public and Third Sectors.
Nicole Don
Client Partner
Nicole joined Aspen in 2024. As a Client Partner, she supports Aspen’s Consultants and Directors on the administration of recruitment campaigns from the initial research phase to eventual completion. This involves assisting with the administration of tenders, regularly communicating with both clients and candidates as well as organising advertising, social media, microsites and recruitment videos.
Weronika Kosinska
Client Partner
Weronika is an International Marketing Graduate from Glasgow Caledonian University, graduating with First Class Honours in 2023. Her academic background spans international marketing strategy, consumer behaviour and brand communications.
Having joined Aspen People in July 2026 as a Client Partner, Weronika works closely with clients and candidates to support the delivery of executive recruitment campaigns. She brings experience gained across a range of sectors, including healthcare, media, and higher education which has broadened her understanding of people, culture, operations and stakeholder engagement.
Alongside her role at Aspen People, Weronika serves as a Board Member at Yattle and is interested in mentoring, creative leadership, and supporting the local community.
Chloe McDerment
Marketing and Communications Partner
Chloe joined Aspen People in 2025 as a Marketing and Communications Partner, shortly after graduating from the University of Strathclyde Business School with a BA (Hons) in Marketing and Human Resource Management.
Her role involves advancing the marketing and business development support functions through strategic engagement, digital marketing initiatives, social media management, and administrative coordination.
Chloe brings a strong academic foundation and a collaborative approach to her work and is motivated by developing genuine connections that deliver value to both our clients and candidates.