Mary has enjoyed a 25 plus year career in management consultancy, mostly with major global advisory firms. Her specialisation is the implementation of change, and she also coaches executive boards and management teams through major transformations. Mary splits her time between working internationally with a range of private clients; and her role at Strathclyde Business School as a Programme Director on a range of leadership programmes.

Her passion for football is lifelong, playing in mixed teams as a child. She has followed Scottish football at club and country level all her adult life. In 2019 she was appointed to the Scottish FA’s Equality & Diversity Advisory Board, a role that sits well with other non-executive roles at the SWPL, in education and the arts. She is fluent in German, an elected Fellow of the RSA and committed to enabling women to achieve their potential in all walks of life.

Fiona joined the SWPL in February 2022 as Interim Managing Director before taking on the role permanently in October the same year. Fiona joined the SWPL from her role as Head of Girls’ and Women’s Football at the Scottish FA, where she was responsible for delivering the first ever strategy for girls’ and women’s football in Scotland. Prior to that, Fiona led Scottish Women’s Football (SWF) through a significant period of growth in her role as Chief Executive and represented women’s football on the Scottish FA’s Non-Professional Game Board and Congress. As a former player Fiona is a passionate advocate of women’s football.

“It is a privilege to lead the SWPL through this unprecedented period of growth as we aim to professionalise our competitions and deliver best value for our clubs. Working with our clubs and partners, we want to improve the visibility of the SWPL and ensure we showcase the incredible role models and very best of our game here in Scotland.”

Neil was the first chair of the Scottish Women’s Premier League in 2022 and now sits as a non-executive member of the SWPL Board. He has been involved in the football industry for 25 years in a series of senior positions. He is currently the Chief Executive of the Scottish Professional Football League, representing all 42 Scottish clubs.

In his SPFL role, he has developed new sources of income for Scotland’s professional clubs through new and enhanced broadcasting deals and the creation of centrally negotiated commercial partnerships. Neil also led the agenda for change that brought about the successful remerger of the two Scottish leagues; introducing a new governance structure, creating play-offs between the Premiership and Championship divisions, redistributing the game’s wealth and creating a ‘pyramid’ structure covering the whole country.

From 1997 to 2009, first as Company Secretary & Head of Operations and then from 2001 as Chief Executive, Neil led the drive to position Norwich City not only as a financially sound organisation, but also one at the heart of its community as a consultative, accessible family club. Under his stewardship turnover and season ticket sales more than tripled.

Neil is an MBA and a qualified solicitor. He is the only person ever to have been a director of both the English Football Association and the Scottish FA and has also served on the boards of the English Football League and the European Leagues. He has sat on the UEFA Legal Committee and is currently a member of UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.

Neil commented: “The re-structuring of women’s elite football, bringing the top two divisions into the SPFL group, is a hugely exciting development and I am delighted that the SWPL clubs made this decision in 2022. Women’s football has seen worldwide exponential growth in recent years and I am committed to supporting the SWPL delivering new opportunities and accelerating the development of the game here in Scotland.”

James was appointed to the SWPL Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director in July 2022. He is the Chief of Staff at Chelsea having previously been Chief of Staff at AC Milan and the Head of Business Strategy at Arsenal FC, playing a leading role in the commercial development of and promotion of equity, diversity and inclusiveness at all clubs. As part of his roles in club football, James has also participated in a number of commercial committees and decision-making forums at governing body level, including the Premier League, Lega Serie A and the European Club Association.

Prior to starting his career in football, James was a strategy consultant in Accenture’s London office working across its Financial Services and M&A practices.

Chris is the Company Secretary and Head of Legal at Celtic FC and assists in the running of all aspects of Celtic FC Women. Prior to joining Celtic in early 2017, Chris undertook a variety of legal roles, both in private practice and in-house, including with Vodafone, IMG and Interpublic Group in London, with involvement in Sports Law matters being a staple throughout his career.

Alongside his role with the SWPL, Chris also represents Celtic on various committees and working groups of the Scottish and European football authorities. He has also been on the Advisory Board of Law in Sport for over 10 years and brings a wealth of legal and sporting experience to the Board.

Donald was elected to the SWPL Board in January 2024 having taken up the position as Rangers Women FC Managing Director in the same month. Donald assumed this position after holding the role of Technical Director, at Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club, where has spent 5 years living and working in the US. Prior to this Donald worked with Scottish FA as Head of Girls’ and Women’s Football.

“I am happy to be able to support the positive development and governance of the SWPL in holding this position as a board member. It has been said for some time now that it is an ‘exciting time’ for the women’s game in Scotland. With the further developments of the SWPL, and continued growth in professionalism of its member clubs, that has never been more true. I hope I can continue to support the growth and evolution of the women’s game here”

Andrew is the current Chief Executive Officer of Heart of Midlothian plc. He has worked in sport since 2012 following a legal career of 15 years. During his time in sport he has spent 6 years at the Scottish Football Association latterly as Chief Operating Officer and he was also the Chief Executive of Scottish Golf between 2018 and 2020. As well as being a member of the SWPL Board Andrew is a member of the Scottish FA Professional Game Board and was previously a Board member of Scottish Women in Sport. During Andrew’s time at Hearts, he has been a keen supporter of the women’s game which has seen the Hearts Women’s team go from strength to strength as they look to challenge at the top end of the SWPL.

Laura Montgomery is Chief Executive of SWPL side Glasgow City FC, a club she co-founded 25 years ago.

Laura initially trained as a lawyer before moving into senior commercial and operational roles within business and men’s football, whilst always running Glasgow City in her spare time and volunteering in various positions to advance the women’s game in Scotland.

A former player and Captain of Glasgow City, Laura has won numerous domestic League titles and Cup honours as well as competing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. She is incredibly passionate about the advancement of the women’s game and is one of the longest serving and most dedicated members of our sport in Scotland.

Laura also works for UEFA as a UEFA Delegate, taking organisational charge of numerous high profile women’s matches, including the UEFA Women’s Euros in 2022.

Fiona joined the SWPL in February 2022 as Interim Managing Director before taking on the role permanently in October the same year. Fiona joined the SWPL from her role as Head of Girls’ and Women’s Football at the Scottish FA, where she was responsible for delivering the first ever strategy for girls’ and women’s football in Scotland. Prior to that, Fiona led Scottish Women’s Football (SWF) through a significant period of growth in her role as Chief Executive and represented women’s football on the Scottish FA’s Non-Professional Game Board and Congress. As a former player Fiona is a passionate advocate of women’s football.

“It is a privilege to lead the SWPL through this unprecedented period of growth as we aim to professionalise our competitions and deliver best value for our clubs. Working with our clubs and partners, we want to improve the visibility of the SWPL and ensure we showcase the incredible role models and very best of our game here in Scotland.”

Robert joined the SWPL in July 2022 as the Marketing & Communications Manager, having been involved in the girls’ and women’s game since 2011 through voluntary media coverage with Youth Football Scotland (YFS). After leaving the University of Glasgow, he worked as a broadcast journalist at Central FM and Bauer Media. In 2014, he joined YFS full-time, where he continued to enhance their coverage of the girls’ and women’s game. Starting in 2016, Robert provided direct freelance support to Scottish Women’s Football (SWF) and subsequently joined as their Marketing & Communications Officer in 2018. In this capacity, he played a pivotal role in supporting the entire game, including the SWPL. His responsibilities included developing and improving media coverage, professionalizing internal and external communications and marketing for the league, as well as managing events.

With a 12-year involvement, Robert has actively witnessed and contributed to the evolution of the girls’ and women’s game. In his current role, he is excited about directly contributing to the advancement of the elite level, all while collaborating with other stakeholders to develop the game.

Hannah joined the SWPL in June 2023, in the new role of Partnerships Manager. Her focus is to deliver on a range of commercial and broadcasting partnerships, as well as to explore new opportunities for investment into the women’s game.

Before joining the SWPL, Hannah was Head of Sport and Student Partnership at Robert Gordon University for five years, where she had strategic responsibility for all non-academic sport and physical activity. This included the University’s sport facilities and sport development programmes. Prior to this, Hannah held positions as Operations Development Manager and Sport and Physical Activity Development officer at RGU and Aberdeen City Council, respectively.

Hannah studied Sport and Exercise Science at Heriot Watt University from 2009-2013 which cemented her passion for all things sport and the development of sport across communities.

Hannah is a proud advocate for women’s sport and for women working in sport and feels honoured to play a part in supporting the growth of the top level of women’s football in Scotland.

Iain joined the SWPL in July 2023 as Competitions Officer having just graduated from UCFB’s Global Institute of Sport (GIS) with a Masters in Football Business. While studying, Iain honed his existing skills and knowledge to better prepare for the football industry in aspects such as football finance, football operations, fan engagement, and sports consultancy. With a first-class honours degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Strathclyde, he moved into his first role in the football industry in early-2022 as a First Team Football Operations Assistant at Dundee United FC. Here, he aided in matchday operational planning, team travel and accommodation, and general club administration. Alongside studying at GIS’ Manchester Etihad campus, Iain then also completed a football finance internship with Italian football intelligence company, Iterpro, where he aided the company during a period of expansion with client services and sales, and application development.

In this role, Iain is responsible for the planning, preparation, and implementation of all SWPL competitions including calendar and fixture scheduling, managing club communications, and organising and coordinating trophy presentations, cup finals and cup draws. Although this his first role in women’s football, he is passionate about growing the women’s game and delivering an increasingly improved elite women’s game in Scotland so as to inspire the next generation.