Paul McColgan has announced that he is stepping down as CEO of Community Renewal.
Paul is passing the baton on to John Halliday, who is taking over leadership of the organisation as Executive Director
Paul explains:
“Having been at the helm of Community Renewal for 18 years, I have decided it’s time to step down from my role as Group CEO.
I’m immensely thankful for the opportunity that Community Renewal has given me to live out my vocation to help people born into poverty in Scotland get the same life chances as people born into affluence.
It has been a great privilege to work in an organisation where I have been enabled and encouraged to continually push the boundaries of what’s possible, and to pursue radical but simple ideas to make Scotland a more equal society.
I’m very proud of what we have achieved together in the past 18 years including; supporting over 5,500 people into fair work, engaging over 3,000 “hard to engage” people in deprived areas access world-class wellness programmes, empowering 17 different communities to create and achieve a shared vision for their area, fighting funeral poverty by creating the UK’s first not for profit funeral directors and supporting 1,500 Roma people achieve settled status after Brexit.
Although I’ve decided to step down as CEO, I will continue to work with Community Renewal on a part-time basis to support the delivery of our latest ground-breaking initiative Lifting Neighbourhoods Together – a radical test of system change to attempt to lift an entire neighbourhood out of poverty.
I’m really looking forward to the new adventures that will emerge in the next stage of my journey and I’m excited to explore new partnerships.”
As Paul steps down, the Community Renewal board have overseen a robust process to ensure continuing leadership of the organisation and strategy.
They are delighted to announce that the baton will be passed on to John Halliday, who is taking over leadership of the organisation as Executive Director.
John, who was previously Community Renewal’s Director of Development, adds:
“I feel extremely fortunate to have worked so closely for so long alongside Paul, who has been such a leading light and visionary for social change in Scotland. I am so inspired by how he has fostered in my colleagues a burning desire not to take the easy road, but instead take on holistic, long-term approaches and whole system change as they tackle issues of poverty and inequality in our most deprived neighbourhoods.
I feel energised as we embark on a new strategy to share our expertise and learning from twenty years hard work more widely. Learning which can help us all collectively end persistent poverty everywhere in Scotland. Paul’s passion and commitment to values such as listening, learning, and sticking with people for as long as it takes will continue to be the foundations of every project and interaction Community Renewal undertakes over the next 5 years and beyond.”
