The Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) has appointed Graeme Henderson as executive director of delivery and strategic development. Graeme's responsibilities include new business development and overall management and development of SAMH services. He joined SAMH from Penumbra where he was director of services and development. Qualifying as a mental health nurse in the mid-eighties, he left the NHS in the early nineties to work for SAMH and since then has worked for several leading Scottish voluntary organisations. He has a broad experience in managing and developing services across the social care spectrum, with particular expertise in mental health, as well as services for people with addictions, homelessness issues, a learning disability and older people.

Grant Sugden has been appointed chair of the Board of Trustees at Circle. Grant previously worked at Circle as a senior manager before leaving in 2011 to take up his current full time role as chief executive of Waverley Care. Grant is highly qualified with both an MSc in Social Work and an MBA. Both skills will be vital in ensuring that Circle’s work with vulnerable families across Edinburgh, East and West Lothian and North and South Lanarkshire continues to grow to meet the increasing demand for help.

Christine Macleod, director of regulation, is retiring from the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR). Christine has been a central figure in the regulation of Scottish social landlords for more than 20 years and is SHR’s longest-serving staff member. Her distinguished career in social housing began with housing management roles in Glasgow City Council and Govanhill Housing Association. She then moved to government agencies, working firstly with Scottish Special Housing Association then Scottish Homes in housing management, estate regeneration and management consultancy roles. Christine took her first regulation post with Scottish Homes in 1995 and since then has worked in a number of regulatory roles with Scottish Homes, Communities Scotland and SHR.