Question reference: S5W-13718
- Asked by: Ash Regan, MSP for Edinburgh Eastern, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 9 January 2018
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Current status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 10 January 2018
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the recent appointment of the head of its newly-established Innovation and Investment Hub in Berlin.
Answer
Alexandra Stein has been appointed as Head of the Scottish Government’s Innovation and Investment Hub in Berlin, Germany. Alexandra has had experience across a broad range of senior policy and operational roles in the Scottish Government, many of which have focused on business and enterprise.
Alexandra has led the Scottish Government's sponsorship of Scotland's two national enterprise agencies, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International, as well as its national tourism body, VisitScotland. In 2014-15 she undertook a
year-long fellowship programme in entrepreneurship as Saltire Fellow and Fulbright Scholar at Babson College in the USA, and has spent time in industry working in innovation and new technologies.
Since June 2016, Alexandra has worked on the interface of innovation, entrepreneurship and industry and led the Enterprise and Skills Review’s project to re-design business support in Scotland.
Alexandra will represent Scottish interests in Germany, strengthening bilateral relationships and promoting the development of new and existing partnerships between the two countries. She will oversee the development of trade and investment links, and cultural and academic ties. Alexandra will work in close partnership with SDI to deliver shared country objectives and priorities that reflect the direction set in the Enterprise and Skills Review, and the International Trade and Investment Strategy. She will also oversee and facilitate cooperative activity between Scotland and Germany to deliver positive outcomes especially in key sectors of the Scottish economy including energy; food and drink; tourism; financial services; and culture and creative industries.