The Board

Councillor Clare Maitland is a Trustee Ambassador for Creative Activities

Clare has a degree in English and Film & Television from the University of Glasgow.

She has a background at senior level in Events, Retail and Marketing and was part of the founding team that set up the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and the Celtic Connections festival. She owned her own marketing company specialising in driving business from the customer experience and until 2015, she owned and ran her own dress agency. 

Clare is the Councillor for Ward 5 in Kilmarnock and Cabinet Member for Equality, Inclusion and Poverty at East Ayrshire Council. She is the Council representative for several organisations.

Married with twin daughters, Clare lives in Kilmarnock and is passionate about music, politics and words. She is currently learning to draw.

Councillor Iain Linton is a Trustee Ambassador for Commercial Activities

Ian has been an SNP Councillor since being elected in 1999. 

He represents Ward 3, which takes in the west of Kilmarnock.  He is the Cabinet Member for Wellbeing. He is 54 years old, and has two sons. Cllr Linton is also a Telecommunications Engineer with BT, and in his spare time he enjoys sports and is a keen hill walker

James is our Trustee Ambassador for Community Activities

James represents Ward 3 Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse.

Born and bred in East Ayrshire, James has a wealth of high level experience in the sport, leisure and recreation sector having worked at both the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.  James was previously Head of Learning and Skills for Sport, Fitness and Hospitality at Ayrshire College where he enjoyed working to develop the future workforce of the region. Prior to this position he successfully managed leisure clubs in the private sector and worked in Higher Education leading sports provision at UWS as the programme leader.

Educated at Kilmarnock Academy before gaining an honours degree in Leisure and Recreation Management from Glasgow University, James has over thirty year’s experience working in the public, private and voluntary sectors throughout East Ayrshire.

James is a member of the Scottish Football Association South West Development group and has been responsible for developing free football programmes for school children across East Ayrshire.  James can often be found in the gym, or playing rugby at Ayrshire Athletics Arena where he is a volunteer club coach working with young athletes.

Linda is our Trustee Ambassador for Corporate Activities

Linda lives in Kilmarnock, and has worked for NHS Ayrshire & Arran for almost 20 years, her current post is Digital Services Administrator.  She is a local activist for Unite The Union, as well as being a Workplace Representative.  Linda was also a keen member and Secretary of a very active Community Council in Kilmarnock until she became a Councillor.

She has lived her entire life in Ayrshire, and almost all of it in East Ayrshire, and is very proud of her roots. 

Linda is looking forward to being involved with the East Ayrshire Leisure Trust, as she thinks they do incredible work all across East Ayrshire across a wide range of sport and cultural events, and she relishes the idea of being part of improving and expanding what the Trust offers to the residents of, and visitors to, East Ayrshire.

Graham is our Trustee Ambassador for Creative Activities

Graham was a Physics teacher in local secondary schools for 28 years.  He has an interest in local history and is a member of Kilmarnock & District History Group where he developed a Town Trail Education Resource which allows all primary school pupils to explore their local history and heritage through active learning.

Graham was also the Teacher Representative in Cabinet and is a Councillor for Ward 4.  He is interested in travel, geopolitics, history, sport and nowadays Urbex. 

David is our ex-officio Trustee

David is a champion of public service and has devoted his life to the communities of East Ayrshire. He joined the Council at reorganisation in 1996 from Strathclyde Regional Council, as Principal Solicitor before being appointed as Head of Administration and Legal Services in 2001.

David became Acting Depute Chief Executive - Communities and Economy in June 2026. He is responsible for services that directly impact every resident within East Ayrshire including Housing, Waste, Facilities & Property Management and Ayrshire Roads Alliance, as well as leading on the Kilmarnock town centre regeneration masterplan, working with Community Planning Partners and the third sector to deliver targeted and thoughtful improvements to ensure that Kilmarnock and its communities can flourish.

David is a devoted husband and father. He has two boys, aged 26 and 28, and two beloved dogs, who he enjoys spending his free time with hill walking.

Richard is our ex-officio Trustee

 Richard started his working life in professional sport before embarking on a 35 year career in Local Government.  Throughout this time, Richard has held numerous positions, initially within Leisure and Sport before widening his responsibilities across Community services and beyond. He is currently the Depute Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council.

Richard has held various voluntary non-executive positions, including the role of Chairperson of the National Governing Body, Ice Hockey UK and Chairperson of VoCAL, Scotland’s professional body for Leisure & Culture.

Richard has three children and three grandchildren, whom he devotes much of his spare time to. He also enjoys woodwork and making his own furniture, watching his beloved Leeds United and travelling with his wife Gillian.

Jim is the Trustee Ambassador for Corporate Activities

Jim is a former member of East Ayrshire Council, who served between 2007 and 2022.  Prior to that, he worked in Mining and laterally the Oil and Gas Industry.

Living at Stair in East Ayrshire, he is married to Hilary and they have a Son, Daughter and one Grandson. Jim is passionate about sport and travel and is also the current Chairperson of Kilmarnock Sub Aqua Club.

He has professional qualifications in Electrical Engineering and Safety and Risk Management.

Having served on East Ayrshire Leisure previously as an Elected member, he recognises the good work carried out by the Trust in the past and in particular, the substantive challenges for the Trust going forward.

David is our Trustee Ambassador for Commercial Activities

David F. Ross is an architect and writer.  He is a director of Keppie, the internationally successful design practice based in Glasgow that counts Charles Rennie Mackintosh among its former partners.  David led the team responsible for the design and delivery of Ayrshire College and The HALO.  He is an Honorary Fellow of West College Scotland.  He is a published author of fiction, with five acclaimed novels all set in East Ayrshire.

Rob is the Trustee Ambassador for Community Activities 

Suzanne is our Trustee Ambassador for Creative Activities

Suzanne is a Psychotherapist / Counsellor and runs her Private Practice in Southcraigs where she sees individuals as well as couples. She also works with Relationships Scotland and volunteers for Cruse Bereavement Scotland.

After 30 years in international business, including living in Switzerland and San Francisco, Suzanne wanted to return to her home town of Kilmarnock. She lives in the area with her husband and daughter. She enjoys theatre, live music and exploring new creative outlets.

Andy is a Trustee Ambassador for Corporate Activities and is our Trade Union Trustee

Andy has worked as a joiner within East Ayrshire Council for over 40 years and has been a Trade Union Official for Unite the Union for over 30 years.