Scottish actuary Ronnie Bowie has been named chairman of IMPACT Scotland as work on its new concert hall in Edinburgh gets under way.

Mr Bowie will now appoint a CEO to drive progress on the Dunard Centre, a 1,000 seater auditorium being built behind the Royal Bank of Scotland’s historic headquarters in St Andrew Square.

Decommissioning of disused offices has begun and the incoming chairman’s priority areas also include oversight of the tender process for the main construction phase.

Mr Bowie, who spent 40 years at Hymans Robertson and has held a number governance roles across the public and private sectors, said: “Turning a hidden plot into a public treasure demands vision, determination and extensive collaboration with stakeholders: these values continue to shape all our interactions as we develop this stunning civic space.”

He replaces co-chairs Gavin Reid (CEO of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra) and Fergus Linehan (Director and CEO of the Edinburgh International Festival 2015-2022), who took over the concert hall campaign in July 2020.

IMPACT Scotland has raised £25m from the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal for the project which is designed by lead architect Sir David Chipperfield.