Benny Higgins

Benny Higgins was appointed to the Board in January 2014. He began his career in the financial services industry at Standard Life where he qualified as an actuary, progressing to RBS and subsequently HBOS where he was Chief Executive of their Retail Banking division. He took the helm at Tesco Bank in 2008 following Tesco’s buyout of the RBS share. In September 2017 Benny was asked by the Scottish Government to develop an implementation plan for the creation of a Scottish National Investment Bank. Subsequently he was appointed as Strategic Adviser to the First Minister on the building of the Scottish National Investment Bank and Chairman of Scottish Government’s Advisory Group on Economic Recovery post COVID19.

Benny graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Mathematics from the University of Glasgow. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries, the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow and University of Edinburgh, Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University, Honorary Professor at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, Doctor of University, University of Glasgow and University of Glasgow, Court member of Finance Committee.

Benny is Executive Chairman of the Buccleuch Group and holds a number of Chairmanships including Sistema Scotland, Forster Chase Advisory Limited and The Fine Art Society (London & Edinburgh).