The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Executive Team comprises the Regius Keeper and five Directors.
Executive Team
Group Members
Simon Milne’s passion is nature conservation, plants and leadership. He was appointed the 16th Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 2014 (post established 1699) and plays a leading and international role in the development and management of botanical collections. He was educated at the University of St Andrews and in 1976 commissioned into the Royal Marines with subsequent worldwide operational commando service. In 2000 he became Director of the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and Arboretum and in 2004 he was appointed Chief Executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Simon is a member of His Majesty’s Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, is an Honorary Professor of the University of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and sits on three international garden advisory committees and numerous charitable trusts. He was appointed MBE in 1996. Simon was voted Scotland’s top public sector leader by the Institute of Directors in 2020.
Pete Hollingsworth is Director of Science and Deputy Keeper at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, a Visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh, a visiting Professor at the University of Johannesburg, and an Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Kunming Institute of Botany. His research focuses on understanding and conserving plant biodiversity. In recent years he has contributed to the international efforts of building a unified DNA based-index of life on earth, including various roles within the International Barcode of Life project and the Consortium for the Barcode of Life. He has a strong interest in linking scientific research to practical conservation outcomes, with particular interests in plant health, reintroductions/translocations and the integration of genetic data into conservation planning.
Sarah joined RBGE in April 2024, as Director of Learning and Engagement, where she oversees the development, implementation and coordination of the global learning and engagement programmes.
Sarah previously held roles at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, USA, as Vice President of Engagement and Learning and as Head of Education for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), leading the national education programmes and qualifications.
Other previous experiences include being a trustee for the Greater Brandywine YMCA (Chair), RBGE and Seed Your Future (National Leadership Cabinet) and a member of the Horticulture Roundtable group with Defra. She is also a member of the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture Advisory Group.
Raoul Curtis-Machin has 33 years of experience in horticulture and heritage. He has been Director of Horticulture at the Horticultural Trades Association, a National Trust Gardens and Parks Adviser, landscape historian, private estate manager, garden designer, publisher, author, lecturer and more. Born in Dundee he developed his childhood interest in horticulture through studying for a degree in landscape management at Reading University.
He has a wealth of heritage, politics, communications and landscape management experience. Raoul also helped protect some of the Scotland’s most valuable landscapes when he was the Landscape Historian with Historic Environment Scotland. In his twenties, he managed Sir Winston Churchill’s former estate in Sussex and run a successful garden design business in London. In his early thirties he set up and launched The Northern Garden Magazine, for gardeners in Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland.
As the HTA’s Director of Horticulture, he helped lead the UK garden industry by playing a key role in developing the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Action Group and he represented the UK Government as Commissioner-General at the Antalya Expo 2016. In 2018, Raoul returned to Scotland to be the National Trust for Scotland Operations Manager for Culloden Battlefield, which has given him hands-on experience of Scottish heritage tourism, as well as conserving one of Scotland’s iconic heritage assets. He has been a Trustee of RBGE since 2019, and has a Certificate in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors, as well as Postgraduate Diplomas in Journalism and Public Affairs.
Joanne Hannah was appointed as Director of Resources and Planning of RBGE in January 2021. Prior to that she was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, committed to positively influencing healthcare, professional standards and health policy both nationally and internationally. Previously Joanne has worked as a director, executive advisor, head of commercial services and change and organisational development consultant in professional and higher education institutions across the UK, and in senior management roles within the hospitality and leisure sectors in Hong Kong. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Commerce and Manufactures, Chartered Manager and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, and holds an MBA in International Business Management.