Iain Strachan

A qualified solicitor, Iain is the Chief Procurement Officer for the City of Edinburgh Council. He manages a team of around 50 staff, who oversee all the Council’s procurement activity, with the Council’s third party spend being approximately £685m in 2019/20. In 2020 Iain’s team had a new procurement strategy adopted by the Council, that places sustainability at the heart of the Council’s purchasing activity, and will ensure that the Council’s considerable spending power is used to promote those economic, environmental and social outcomes that support growth, and simultaneously assist the Council in addressing the challenges the city is facing, including from COVID and Brexit. Prior to taking up his current role Iain was Chief Governance Officer at Stirling Council, and before that held positions as a commercial property lawyer in two of Scotland’s largest commercial law firms. In his spare time Iain is a keen runner and Chair of a housing association in Edinburgh, when not being driven to distraction by three primary school children.