New face heads up the Homecoming project

A NEW chief has been handed the task of masterminding the £5.5 million Year of Homecoming campaign.

Caroline Packman, VisitScotland’s current digital marketing head, will now be project director for the 12-month drive, which is being held to co-incide with the 700th Bannockburn celebrations in the summer of that year.

Ms Packman was involved in the previous Homecoming year in 2009.

The post was advertised earlier this month after the project director, Tom Chambers, quit after only 10 months in the job to go and to work on organising the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

VisitScotland, which is running the Year of Homecoming with fellow government agency EventScotland, had denied the project had been thrown into crisis by his departure.

Ms Packman said: “I’m absolutely thrilled about being appointed to what is a fantastic job. I’m really looking forward to getting started and delivering a Year of Homecoming Scotland that the country can be truly proud of.”

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, said: “Caroline is a fantastic appointment and brings an abundance of marketing and project management experience.”