Hilary Spence to step down as Scottish Rugby’s chief financial officer due to health issues

SRU begins search for replacement CFO

Hilary Spence, Scottish Rugby’s chief financial officer, is to leave her role in March to focus on health issues, the governing body has said.

Spence joined the organisation in August 2021 from the Glasgow-based global biotech firm Collagen Solutions where she was CFO and UK managing director. She worked previously for Powerleague and Heineken. She arrived at Scottish Rugby as the sport was trying to emerge from Covid and helped negotiate a way through a series of financial challenges caused by the pandemic.

“I have hugely enjoyed my time with Scottish Rugby and will now be taking some time away from work,” Spence said. “I have been fortunate to work with some talented and inspiring people who, like me, want to see our national and professional teams succeed, to enable us to support rugby in Scotland at every level. I will remain a passionate rugby fan and wish my colleagues and our teams every success in the future.”

Scottish Rugby is looking for a new financial officer. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

John McGuigan, chair of Scottish Rugby Limited, said: “I’m supportive of Hilary’s decision to step away from work to allow her to focus on health issues. I’d like to thank Hilary on behalf of Scottish Rugby and the SRL Board for her contribution over the past three years and wish her well for the future.”

Scottish Rugby has asked Oliver Colling of the company Kingsgate to provide financial consultancy support to the Board and executive team of Scottish Rugby. Colling worked with Scottish Rugby between April 2020 and September 2021 and was part of its senior management group throughout the Covid pandemic. A chartered accountant, Oliver has over 30 years’ experience across industry and in consulting

The recruitment process for a new chief financial officer will begin “in due course”, said Scottish Rugby. The organisation is also in the midst of trying to find a new chief executive and performance director to replace Mark Dodson and Jim Mallinder, respectively, who are both due to step down in the summer.

The challenging financial landscape around Scottish Rugby was made clear last November when the governing body announced a £10.01 million deficit for 2022-23.