THE chief executive of the Scottish National Investment Bank has abruptly quit the role.

Eilidh Mactaggart has stepped down from the post with immediate effect, less than two years after being appointed the first boss of the new institution in April 2020.

SNIB did not elaborate on her departure in a statement published on its website this morning.

Mactaggart has been replaced on an interim basis by chief financial officer Sarah Roughead, formerly of Scottish Equity Partners. The board has commenced a search for a new permanent chief executive.

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Chairman Willie Watt said: “The board would like to thank Eilidh for the contribution she has made as we successfully launched the Scottish National Investment Bank. We have a strong team in place that remains focused on investing to deliver growth, jobs and enhanced social and environmental benefits for the people of Scotland.

“Having committed almost £200 million since launch, we are in an excellent position to deliver on our objectives, and I am proud of the significant investments we have made so far. We have lots more to do and I look forward to continuing the Bank’s missions to support the transition to net zero, extend equality of opportunity and harness innovation to enable the people of Scotland to flourish.”

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MacTaggart, an infrastructure funding specialist, was appointed to run the bank in April 2020 on a salary of £235,000.

The Scottish National Investment Bank officially opened its doors in November 2020 with a warchest of £2 billion of public money to deploy patient capital to firms in Scotland that meet its “mission-led” criteria – innovation, tackling inequality and supporting the drive towards net zero.