Our Trustees
Eight trustees, headed by our Chair, Sandy Manson, have the overall responsibility for the management of the charity.
Adrian Astley Jones
Adrian has over 20 years’ experience in technology and commercial roles, ranging from Plc’s to early-stage startups, and 14 years’ experience in the Private Equity sector. He has worked on and been responsible for advising clients (on technology matters) on over 300 Private Equity and M&A deals across multiple sectors and geographies. As one of the first employees and former Chief Commercial Officer of Intuitus Advisory, Adrian played a key role in the merger with Endava Plc in late 2019 and went on to become Managing Director of Endava’s Private Equity Group. He is a graduate of the University of Dundee and Strathclyde Graduate Business School.
Alastair Salvesen
Alastair Salvesen CBE is a leading figure in the UK seafood industry and has been for over 35 years, receiving an honorary degree for his outstanding contribution to business and society from Cranfield University. Alastair Salvesen is also a Director of the Edinburgh New Town Cookery School Ltd, Dovecot Studios Ltd (one of the world’s leading contemporary tapestry studios), Archangel Investments Ltd and New Ingliston Ltd.
Dr David Farquharson
Dr David Farquharson was the Medical Director at NHS Lothian until his retirement in 2017. He was responsible for patient safety and quality of patient care throughout the Lothian area. He is also the responsible officer for all qualified Doctors in Lothian on behalf of the GMC. David originally specialised in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and was the Clinical Director for women’s services at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for 15 years. He brings a wealth of medical, management and governance experience to Salvesen Mindroom Centre. As a Trustee, he has supervisory responsibility for all Child Protection matters.
Judy Wagner
As a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, Judy began her career as a Chartered Accountant and worked in commerce before co-founding FWB (now FWB Park Brown), an international executive search business with offices in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Houston, Texas. She is an Associate of the University of Edinburgh Business School and Joint Programme Director for the University’s Executive Women’s Leadership Programme and for the Non-Executive Director Programme.
Lesley McPherson
Robin Dow
Robin is married to Sophie Dow, the founder of Salvesen Mindroom Centre. He has an extensive business background in marketing and general management. He is currently the chairman of a company specialising in infrastructure maintenance and MD of a property development company. As a Trustee, he has specific responsibility for Finance and Governance.
Sandy Manson (Chair)
In his professional capacity, Sandy is Chair and Head of Client Services at Johnston Carmichael, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers. He is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and joined Johnston Carmichael in 1991 where he was CEO from 2007 until 2019. Sandy is also a past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Sophie Dow
Sophie is our founder and the visionary behind our work which was inspired by her daughter, Annie, who has learning difficulties. A journalist and writer by profession, with 30 years of experience in the field, Sophie acts as Salvesen Mindroom Centre’s ambassador, constantly spreading the word about the charity and raising awareness of learning difficulties. She also undertakes special projects on Salvesen Mindroom Centre’s behalf. She is proud of her Swedish heritage and has managed to hang onto her accent despite having lived in the UK since 1982.
