Simon Milne MBE has been named Scotland’s top public sector leader at the prestigious Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland Awards on September 8. The accolade comes less than a week after the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh secured a £50m investment from Scottish Government for its innovative Edinburgh Biomes project and marks another landmark in the Garden’s 350^th anniversary year.

Having earlier in the evening scooped the title of Regional Director of the Year for Edinburgh & Lothians, in a virtual ceremony acknowledging the very best in Scotland’s business, across 12 key director categories, the overall award recognised the major achievements of RBGE under his tenure as Regius Keeper.

The judges reported “Simon has demonstrated excellent leadership and strategic thinking in the new strategy and capability he has built at RBGE. He also has shown the importance of leading his team through the transformation to drive better outcomes for them, the organisation and the community they serve. It was exciting to read about the changes Simon has led, the strategy he has built and is implementing whilst delivering for customers, the country and the environment.”

Commenting on the significance of the award for the Garden at this time, Mr Milne said “I am extremely honoured to have received these prestigious awards from the Institute of Directors Scotland, and am grateful to the judges for their comments and this recognition. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has had a lot of good news lately, which is very welcome in these challenging times, and it is a huge privilege to be leading our amazing team as we play our part in the Green Recovery, and helping to address the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis".

“One of the secrets of our success  is working effectively and in collaboration with communities and countries, and across the private, public and third sectors; recognising and raising awareness of interdependencies as we strive for a greener and more sustainable future. Scotland can take pride that it has a world leading plant research, conservation and education institute and I am determined to ensure that Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is best placed  to continue its innovative and impactful work well into the future.