Hearts & Minds welcomes Bob Irvine to board of trustees.

A former senior civil servant has been appointed as the chair of the board of trustees of an Edinburgh-based charity.

Hearts & Minds has announced that Bob Irvine will join their team following the end of tenure of previous chair, Stephen Gallagher. 

Mr Irvine joined Hearts & Minds as a trustee in February 2022 and was delighted to be invited to take over as chair. 

Bob is a former senior civil servant in the Scottish Government with wide-ranging experience including strategic leadership in cultural policy, education policy, and project management and governance. 

He has previously served on the boards of several charitable organisations in the cultural sector.

Bob said: “It is a great privilege to take over as chair of Hearts & Minds - a fantastic organisation that plays a special role for so many people through bringing moments of joy and laughter to their difficult lives. 

“I look forward to working with the team to build on the great work that has already been done so that Hearts & Minds can spread that joy and laughter more widely across Scotland.”

Bob joins in an exciting phase of development for the charity as it looks to strengthen its current Clowndoctor & Elderflower programmes while developing workshops for carers of people living with dementia and chronic illness with funding from BUPA UK Foundation.

Sean Donnelly, CEO, Hearts & Minds said: “We are thrilled to have Bob take up the role as chair of Hearts & Minds. 

“As a retired senior civil servant in the Scottish Government dealing with arts and education Bob brings a wealth of experience and we look forward to working closely over the coming years. 

“I’d also like to place on record my thanks to Stephen Gallagher for his commitment as chair in recent years.”