Our people

David has been RZSS CEO since 2020. His previous roles include Chief Executive of the Zoological Society of East Anglia, Zoological Director of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Curator of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo and Assistant Director of Dublin Zoo. 

As an Honorary Professor of the Royal Veterinary College, David has served as Chair of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria (BIAZA) and is the current President of the Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers (ABWAK), Vice President of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), chairs the WAZA Population Management Committee and represents WAZA as the Reverse the Red Co-Chair.

Responsible for all public-facing activities, including marketing, communications, discovery and learning, membership and fundraising, Ben began his career as a journalist with D.C. Thomson and spent over a decade with the Scottish SPCA before joining the Scottish Ambulance Service. 

A chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Ben has served on the board of Keep Scotland Beautiful and on the Diabetes Scotland Advisory Council.

Responsible for all financial accounting and management activities such as financial forecasting and accounts, VAT, corporate governance, risk assessment, payroll, insurance, pensions administration, IT and property and estates.

Mark leads our Human Resources department in providing a high quality, proactive and effective service that is tailored to meet the current, emerging and future needs of RZSS. 

Joining in 2019 as one of our HR Business Partners, Mark supported various areas within the organisation prior to moving into the role of Head of HR in December 2020. Mark's career spans across the public, private and charitably sectors, spending a good proportion of his working career in Aberdeen prior to returning home to the Edinburgh area.

Having spent most of his career in Scottish public sector communications, Alan joined the organisation in September 2023 to head up a team of communications specialists working to raise the profile of RZSS as Scotland’s leading wildlife conservation charity.

The team works to promote Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park as our gateways to nature and as world-class visitor attractions, highlight RZSS as an international leader in conservation and science, grow brand awareness, income and support, and engage with stakeholders to help influence or assist with relevant policy and legislation.  

Catherine leads the property and estates team at both Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park. Catherine is a chartered Architect with over 17 years’ industry experience managing various multi-million pound construction projects, across the higher education, research, residential and leisure sectors.

Catherine is responsible for developing, directing and leading a full facilities management and capital development programme. This includes all maintenance, development of infrastructure and assets across RZSS.

Simon has been head of veterinary services at RZSS since 2009. He has been Recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as a Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine since 2003 and the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation as a European Veterinary Specialist in Zoo Health Management since the creation of the discipline in 2012. 

He is immediate Past President of the European College of Zoological Medicine, a previous President of the British Veterinary Zoological Society and sits on and Chairs a number of UK and Scottish Government Committees regarding animal welfare of domestic, wild and captive wild animals. 

Darren is responsible for all the animal species in our care at Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park, including husbandry, health management, nutrition and veterinary services. 

Originally employed on a youth training scheme, Darren has been with RZSS since 1986, working with birds, primates and hoofstock, and was head hoofstock keeper for 10 years before becoming animal collection manager, followed by head of animals and then head of living collections in 2013.

Rachel is responsible for co-ordinating, managing and delivering the day-to-day operations of Highland Wildlife Park as an accessible and exciting visitor attraction with five-star customer service standards. Her career encompasses operations management, engagement and visitor experience. 

She has managed both commercial and non-commercial visitor attractions, being appointed to her first role as General Manager in 2012. Prior to joining RZSS in 2023, she has worked within several conservation charities including The Woodland Trust and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

Laura is responsible for retail at Edinburgh Zoo, Highland Wildlife Park and online for RZSS. Before becoming head of business operations and retail, Laura was business operations and retail manager for Edinburgh Zoo and joined in August 2017. 

She started her retail career in H. Samuels before moving onto Boots where she trained as a fragrance consultant, dispenser and finally assistant store manager. Before joining RZSS, Laura also worked as retail and duty manager for The Real Mary King’s Close.

Lisa is responsible for marketing, events, membership and sales within RZSS, and has a 20 year career within the tourism and hospitality industry. 

She joined RZSS in 2019, having spent time at Historic Environment Scotland, Continuum Attractions and Visit Britain, and joined the board of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions in late 2022.

Helen manages the RZSS conservation department and has worked at RZSS since 2011, with her roles including management of the RZSS WildGenes lab. 

A specialist in conservation genetics, Helen works on species conservation strategies and action plans across the globe.

Ade is responsible for strategically developing, implementing and maintaining our IT estate, covering areas such as applications, infrastructure and communications architecture, service delivery and data security.

Ade joined us in 2017 as IT manager and became head of IT in 2018. Prior to this he worked for the RSSPCC for 14 years. He has extensive knowledge of the Scottish charity sector and the challenges of delivering IT service within constrained budgets and resources.