Sarah Murray appointed first CEO of Scotland's Forth Green Freeport

Photo: Forth Green Freeport

Scotland’s designated freeport, Forth Green Freeport (FGF), has appointed Sarah Murray (above) as the first chief executive of the public/private consortium.

Set to take up her new role on 27 August, Ms Murray is currently director of Local London, a sub-regional economic growth partnership of nine London boroughs, and was previously head of regulation for the City of London Corporation from 2016 to 2021.

Prior to that she spent 16 years working in Brussels in various senior roles, including leading the East of England and Lancashire Brussels offices and as deputy director at the Channel Islands Brussels office.

FGF officially “opened for business” on 12 June, following approval from the Scottish and UK governments of its outline business case and the designation of its three tax sites: Grangemouth, Rosyth and Mid-Forth (Leith and Burntisland).

It will attract new businesses and new jobs into the area, aided by financial incentives to deliver major economic and net zero benefits for Scotland, and is focusing on the key target sectors of offshore wind, hydrogen, sustainable fuels, modular manufacturing and logistics.

The consortium is currently developing its final business case, which will be submitted to the Scottish and UK governments later in the summer.

FGF chairwoman Susan Rice said: “We conducted a robust recruitment process to ensure that we got the right person for the job and we’re thrilled to have appointed Sarah.

“She brings with her a host of qualities and professional experience which are vital for the role as CEO of the Forth Green Freeport and we’re looking forward to working with her to deliver this exciting long-term programme for Scotland.”

Ms Murray added: “Throughout my career I have gained a wealth of experience of working with multilayered partnerships and I understand the importance of good, transparent stakeholder engagement.

“I am looking forward to getting started in August and to begin building on the excellent start that the consortium has already made.”