A social enterprise leader and management consultant has been appointed director of CBI Scotland.

Glasgow-born Michelle Ferguson, 59, will take up the role next month following a long search to replace Tracy Black who stepped up to to strategy director and devolved nations ambassador.

Mags Simpson, who has been interim director since April, will revert to her role as director of policy.

Ms Ferguson has been running her own firm in Scotland, Crown Management Consulting, for the past year.

With expertise across a range of sectors, she has held a number of high-profile leadership positions.

She was UK managing director of social enterprises at Royal British Legion Industries and founded Scotland’s Bravest Manufacturing Company, a social enterprise dedicated to supporting armed forces veterans.

Following this, she took on the leadership of the company’s operations in Aylesford and Leatherhead.

Earlier in her career, she revitalised St Andrew’s First Aid and more recently has served as a non-executive director of the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce.

She said it is a “huge privilege to take on this wonderful role and to work with Mags and the rest of the team to champion the interests of Scottish business.”

Ms Black said: “With established links across various levels of government, and with a solid grounding in the challenges and opportunities facing Scottish businesses, Michelle is perfectly placed to take up the role as we head into a crucial year for the Scottish economy.

“I’d also like to thank Mags Simpson for her work in leading the team over the past few months.

“From welcoming the Chancellor of the Exchequer to Scotland to supporting members across all sectors, Mags has done an outstanding job in keeping CBI Scotland on the front foot in a year of huge change for the country and uncertainty for business.

“Mags will continue to drive forward our policy work and make sure that the voice of CBI Scotland members is heard clearly in Westminster and Holyrood.”

CBI forecasts slower growth

The appointment of Ms Ferguson coincided with the latest CBI Economic Forecast showing that, while the UK economy began to recover this year, growth over 2024 and 2025 is now expected to be slower than forecast in June.

It says GDP growth will continue at a steady yet unimpressive pace through to 2026, primarily driven by household spending. The weaker outlook partly reflects the impact of measures in the Autumn Budget, as higher employment costs and the crowding out of private sector activity will weigh on growth over the forecast. 

It expects UK GDP growth this year to be 0.9% and 1.6% in 2025 a downgrade on its June forecast of 1.9%. It is expects GDP to grow by 1.5% in 2026.

Consumer spending is expected to increase over 2025. Business investment is projected to grow but will be weighed down by higher employment costs and crowding out following the Budget.

Productivity (output per worker) remains challenging and will lag slightly behind its lacklustre pre-pandemic trend through 2026, it says.

Louise Hellem, CBI chief economist, said: “The government’s focus on stability is welcomed by businesses of all sizes as a vital pre-condition for growth. But with consumers and businesses continuing to feel the squeeze, there is work to be done to get momentum back into the economy.

“Measures in the Autumn Budget will increase firms’ costs at a time when their profit margins have already been under pressure. Many businesses have told us that these measures will likely push up prices and weigh on their hiring and investment plans going forward.”