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This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Management Group appoints new member

27/05/2002

The Executive has appointed Michael Watts as a Non-Executive Member
of its Management Group.

The Scottish Executive Management Group is a group of senior officials
chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Sir Muir Russell. Its Members include
the Heads of the Departments within the Executive, the Chief Executive of
the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Principal Establishment
Officer and the Principal Finance Officer. One of its main functions is to
ensure that the Executive is organised and managed in the most effective
way to support Ministers in the implementation of their policies.

Mr Watts has been appointed to replace Paul Pagliari, one of the first
Non-Executive Members appointed to the Management Group, last August. Such
Members bring an external perspective to the consideration of corporate
management issues such as staffing, administration costs, monitoring of
programme expenditure, training and development, accommodation strategy and
relations with stakeholders.

Mr Watts will also be a member of the Scottish Executive Audit Committee and
will have a role in relation to the Pay Committees which make decisions on
the pay of Senior Civil Servants in the Executive.

Many Whitehall Departments have also appointed non-executive members to
their Management Boards. This appointment reflects the Executive's
continuing commitment to developing strong leadership with a clear sense of
purpose. This is a key strand of the wider programme of modernising
government.

Mr Watts is the Human Resources Director of Scottish Widows, part of
Lloyds TSB. Aged 42, he started out in sales in the financial sector
before moving into General Management and HR with Black Horse Life, which
was taken over by Lloyds TSB in the mid '90s. He has studied Politics and
Economics and has a MSc in Change Management from Sheffield Business
School. His interests include an active pursuit in various sports. He
currently plays hockey in the Scottish National League system and has
recently represented Scotland at several over 40's tournaments.

Mr Watts is married with two young children.

The appointment of Mr Watts as a Non-Executive Member of the Scottish
Executive Management Group will be for an initial term of 2 years
commencing on 20 May 2002. He will receive a fee of £7,500 per annum.

Mr Watts has been appointed to replace Mr Pagliari (one of the first
Non-Executive Members appointed to the Management Group, last August). Mr
Pagliari stood down from Management Group on 31 March to take up an
appointment with Scottish Water.

Page updated: Thursday, July 22, 2004