Sarah Madden has joined SLE as a policy adviser (rural communities) and Hannah Lloyd joins as the organisation’s business development manager.

Ms Madden previously worked for parliamentarians in both the Scottish and Westminster parliaments, most recently working for Hannah Bardell MP as a caseworker and managing a variety of projects on issues including planning and employee rights. In her new role, she will advise members on land reform, planning and community engagement and has already started to meet SLE members and provide representation on various stakeholder groups.

Ms Lloyd joins Scottish Land & Estates having worked for surveying and architecture company GLM as its marketing manager and associate director. In her previous role, Hannah mentored the technical team to aid business development and marketing. Alongside her role at GLM, Hannah has actively sought ways to support the wider business community through roles as a director with Highland Business Women and a long-standing involvement with Women in Property.

Prior to this, Ms Madden studied for a degree in Business Management and Real Estate and worked for a short time in the property management space. In her new role, Hannah will work alongside head of business Tony Stevenson to increase the benefits of SLE membership and support members in their business aims.

Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, said: “We’re really pleased to welcome Sarah and Hannah to the SLE team. Businesses across rural Scotland have been experiencing a period of significant challenge and for an organisation such as ours, we need to be adept at quickly supporting the needs of our members as change occurs. Both Sarah and Hannah will play a huge role in representing the voices of rural communities and businesses and we wish them well as they begin their roles.”

Sarah Madden added: “The forthcoming decade is likely to herald the biggest change for how business and land is managed in rural Scotland for generations and it is important that the views of communities are represented to policymakers and politicians. SLE represents such a wide variety of fantastic businesses and organisations who are playing a crucial role in providing affordable homes, tackling the climate emergency and providing local jobs and I’m excited to be engage with them and then play a part in helping their progress.”

Hannah Lloyd commented: “I have worked alongside SLE’s business and policy team throughout my time in my previous job and I was delighted to have the opportunity to join the team and use my experience to support the organisation’s mission of helping rural Scotland thrive. Our rural sector has some of the most innovative, passionate leaders and employees in Scotland – we are committed to doing what we can to aid their success.”