IoD Scotland launches forum for young directors

The Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland has launched its first forum to help young and aspiring directors move up the corporate ladder and grow their businesses.

Lex Mancini, chair of IoD Scotland's young directors forum

The organisation’s young directors forum (YDF) is chaired by Lex Mancini – a qualified lawyer and associate at wealth manager Tilney Bestinvest – and will provide mentoring, training and other events for young entrepreneurs and aspiring chief executives to learn about business issues and governance.

Mancini said: “Scotland has been given the opportunity to create a platform that caters for the younger generation in business and taps into the wealth of experience that the IoD membership holds.

“The YDF is an opportunity to uncover the needs of Scotland’s aspiring directors and entrepreneurs who are looking for tailored membership value and will be a force for change and increased diversity within the ranks of the IoD. Importantly, it will provide the support, access to expertise and the business network that young directors need to grow and be successful in the future.”

The YDF, which has the support of the Scottish Government, was launched last night launched at a reception hosted by Edinburgh Napier University, where speakers included Young Scot chief executive Louise Macdonald and Lord Dunlop, who ran a communications business for more than 20 years before becoming parliamentary under secretary of state at the Scotland Office.

Dunlop said: “I want Scotland to be the most entrepreneurial place in the world. If we are to tackle poverty, address the scourge of long-term unemployment and deliver social justice – and we must – then we need first to generate the means to achieve our social goals. And that is where Scotland’s young directors come in.”