Meet the Board

Kevin Hague is the Chairman at Lothian Broadband and has considerable experience growing businesses from start-up/early-stage to scale and profitability. Kevin is also acting Chairman of These Islands (a not-for-profit think tank which focuses on constitutional issues facing the UK) and is a Trustee of the Gifford Community Land Company. Kevin is a mechanical engineer by background and after graduating spent a decade at OC&C Strategy Consultants, of which two as a partner leading a wide variety of strategy consulting assignments focusing on consumer, retail, new media, and M&A industries.

Kevin has co-founded, invested in, and acted as an executive Director of two successful Scottish businesses both of which have featured as Sunday Times FastTrack business: online retailer M8 Group Ltd, which was built from start-up to over £20m turnover and sustainable profitability before being sold to management in 2020 and performance cycle clothing business Endura Ltd, which enjoyed strong, highly profitable international growth before being sold to Pentland Group in 2018. Kevin’s blend of strategic know-how, entrepreneurial experience and consumer industry knowledge are a perfect fit with Lothian Broadband’s needs.

Scott Coates is CEO and Founder of Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG), one of the UK’s leading digital infrastructure operators. WIG builds and operates both communication towers and fibre connected small cells across the UK, US, Ireland, Netherlands, and Spain. WIG is on its fifth private equity cycle and is backed by Brookfield Infrastructure having successfully delivered an average 29% IRR to its various investors over the last decade.

Scott was a non-executive director of Zzoomm (an Oxford based FTTH start-up) in 2019 and 2020 and supported its management through to the successful capital raise of £100m. Prior to starting WIG, Scott was a partner in a private equity fund and focussed on TMT. Scott has extensive experience with connectivity policy in the UK and was the inaugural chairman of the European Wireless Infrastructure Association representing the interests of tower companies in Europe. In 2019 Scott won the Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year award in Scotland.

Nic McCormick has been involved with the company from 2015. Nic’s traditional role has focussed on the daily operations of the business from managing and maintaining the network to leading key site upgrades; his work ensures those in rural areas receive a competitive and high-quality connection. Recently, Nic’s focus has transitioned from this to strategy and business development.

Nic’s technical knowledge of the local area, company and sector confirms he is best suited to guide our future full fibre network expansion. Originally from New Zealand and with a background in construction, Nic moved to Scotland and studied civil engineering at Edinburgh University. Nic is well known in the sector and maintains good relationships with other communications providers and regulators. The insight gained from this is vital to strategic growth of Lothian Broadband.

Jennifer Nicoll is the Director of Finance & Operations at Lothian Broadband, and since joining the company in 2019 as Finance Director has successfully supported its continued expansion and the acquisition of Highland Wireless despite the challenges of Covid-19. Jennifer has significant strategic and operational experience in a wide range of business areas which is key in guiding LBG during this transition period to achieve its growth potential in a competitive and challenging sector. To enable Nic McCormick to focus on the future fibre strategy and plan, Jennifer has stepped in as acting CEO while we progress with identifying a future CEO for the scaled-up business.

Jennifer is a chartered accountant by background and worked with PwC and EY in Edinburgh and Sydney before moving into the financial services sector where she worked for both global organisations on an international basis (Franklin Templeton & Morgan Stanley), and a boutique investment firm in Edinburgh. Her roles have involved a focus establishing new operations and supporting significant organisational growth or operational change. In recent years Jennifer has also been involved in the economic development with Highlands & Islands Enterprise and early-stage entrepreneurial support and investment with Investing Women Angels. She has served on the boards of several charities as well as on the Investment Fund Operations Committee and Tax Committees of the Investment Association and was a member of the Business Creation and Growth Mission group of the Scottish Government Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board.