Lesley is co-founder of the Traveltech for Scotland cluster where she built and grew a highly active community of traveltech start-ups and SME’s, driving innovative business-academic collaborations for digital transformation, including Traveltech collectives and Interface projects funded by the Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund. She is experienced in delivering knowledge exchange events to highlight the benefits of digital technologies and data for industry sectors, including visitor management and cultural heritage; and has worked extensively with the private and public sector, helping businesses to grow through training, knowledge transfer, and digital skills development. A graduate of Glasgow University, Lesley has an MSC in Marketing Management from Edinburgh Napier University, where she later completed the first Destination Leaders Programme, a tourism leadership network of 100+ industry professionals. Lesley sits on the Board of Women in Tourism and chairs the Visitor Management Digital Group, a sub-group of Scotland’s National Visitor Management Strategy Steering group, chaired by VisitScotland.
Lorna Watson is Interface’s Innovation Engagement Lead covering the Tayside and Forth Valley regions. Since joining the organisation in 2013, she’s been instrumental in promoting Interface’s matchmaking service—connecting businesses and third-sector organisations with Scotland’s academic expertise to support innovation, growth, and sustainability.
A graduate of Heriot-Watt University with a BA in Business Management, Lorna brings a rich background in business support. Her previous role as a Business Adviser with Business Gateway involved guiding start-ups and growth businesses, as well as facilitating Women into Business initiatives across the Scottish Borders.
Outside of work, Lorna lives in the heart of the Tayside countryside. She’s bagged a few Munros, loves holidaying both abroad and across Scotland, is an avid reader of crime novels, and enjoys spending time with her three grandchildren. When it’s time to unwind, she turns to a good Netflix binge—her favourite way to relax after a busy day.
Lorraine is Head of Innovation Engagement following twelve years as Business Engagement Manager/Senior Innovation Lead for the Highlands and Islands. In that time, she has developed close partnerships with other business support organisations in the region ensuring that businesses can receive the right support for them at the right time.
She enjoys promoting how Interface can open up a whole new world of possibilities by introducing business owners to resources they never knew were available to them and helping them achieve their ambitions no matter their size, and regardless of where the business may be based.
While on secondment with Innovate UK Business Connect Lorraine helped to implement the Innovation Collaboration Framework for Scotland, bringing together Innovate UK and Scotland’s three enterprise agencies.
Lorraine joined Interface from VisitScotland where she worked for 25 years, and travel remains a favourite pastime outside of work.
Lorraine in her role as Head of Innovation Engagement, continues to make connections across the business and academic communities, ensuring that Interface’s role in supporting innovation in Scotland is to the fore.
Louise Arnold is a Senior Innovation Engagement Lead at Interface where she plays a central role in connecting businesses with Scotland’s universities, colleges, and research institutes to foster impactful collaborations. With over 20 years’ experience building strategic partnerships across Scotland’s innovation ecosystem, she is recognised as a trusted advisor within the KE&I community, helping organisations navigate innovation pathways, unlock academic expertise, and engage with funding mechanisms to develop partnerships that deliver real world impact. Her work spans early stage innovation support, multi stakeholder engagement, and strengthening university industry relationships across a diverse range of sectors.
With a background in market analysis, research strategy, and stakeholder engagement across industry and academia, Louise brings deep insight into how to translate complex research into meaningful economic and societal outcomes. She also contributes to Scotland’s wider innovation landscape as an assessor on funding panels and a collaborator on academic engagement initiatives.
Out of work Louise enjoys walking her dog, DIY and catching up with friends.
As Innovation Project Officer, Nicola works across the teams to deliver Interface’s mission which is to connect businesses and academics. Her role involves HR, Office Management, Funding delivery, as well as providing support for the marketing, and systems and finance teams. Having grown up in Kenya she graduated with a degree in Media, Society and Culture from Northumbria University. Since then, Nicola has gained international experience in a variety of roles from events management, retail and administration. Nicola is one of Interface’s qualified Mental Health First Aiders, is a University of Edinburgh Sustainability Champion and is part of the Responsible Business group. In her free time Nicola enjoys travel, reading, and exploring the Edinburgh food scene.
Shelley is a knowledge exchange professional brokering award winning collaborative R&D projects between Scottish businesses and academia for over a decade. A senior member of the team her focus is on raising awareness of the value of our world class academic base, building relationships and identifying opportunities to support university, college and research institutes priorities and their role in delivering prosperity for Scotland.
Shelley is also a co-opted Committee Member of City of Glasgow College’s Board of Management where she provides insight and analysis to the Management Board on commercial and international activities, assessing and managing risks and opportunities.
Shelley graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a BA Honours degree in International Business and Modern Languages. Following a stint spent working and travelling around North America she moved back to the UK to start her career in sales and business support.
Outside of work Shelley is passionate about fitness and is most often found at CrossFit or having a swim in the North Sea!
Suzy has been with Interface since 2015 as PR and Communications Executive, following 17 years working in public relations both in-house and agency.
Prior to that she was a journalist with a variety of daily and weekly newspapers.
Suzy’s main role at Interface is the creation and implementation of the PR and Communications strategy, letting the world know of the amazing work that Interface does, the impacts that this has on Scotland’s economy and society and supporting small businesses by spreading their success stories.
In 2023, Suzy became accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project.