Bridget Mary McConnell, Lady McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (; born 28 May 1958) is a Scottish public sector administrator specialising in the arts. She was the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Glasgow Life Glasgow Life is the principal trading name and brand of Culture and Sport Glasgow, a charity based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is an Arms' Length External body from Glasgow City Council, with operating responsibility for managing the arts, music, ...

from 2007 to 2022, the charity and arms-length body responsible for delivering culture and sport in Glasgow. McConnell participated in Glasgow's successful bid for the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

, serving as a member of the organising committee and as the Director of Ceremonies and Culture, while overseeing infrastructure required for the games. McConnell was responsible for a major overhaul of the city's sports, leisure, arts and cultural facilities. Since 2022, McConnell has been a non-executive member of a number of arts related boards in Scotland. McConnell is the wife of former

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister f ...

Education and career

McConnell was educated at Our Lady's High School,

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...

, going on to graduate from

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

(MA hons, 1982), Dundee College of Commerce (DIA 1983) and

Stirling University The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthr ...

(MEd, 1992; EdD, 2009). McConnell worked as the first curator of a local authority travelling art gallery with Fife County Council in 1983, then taking up the first ever jointly funded Local Authority/Scottish Arts Council Arts Officer post in Stirling District Council in 1984, followed by ten years in Fife Council firstly as Principal Arts Officer then Arts, Libraries, Museums and Recreation Manager. She joined

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

in 1998 as Director of Cultural and Leisure Services. As CEO, McConnell oversaw an annual budget of c.£108 million and leading a staff of 2,600 people working across nearly 100 culture and sport facilities, events and festivals. She served a number of national committees and boards, including Unboxed2022, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, and Arts and Business Scotland.

Glasgow Life

During the COVID pandemic, McConnell oversaw the redesign of the organisation, advocating for its role in the economic and social recovery of the city, as well as chairing the Health and Wellbeing group of the National Events Industry Advisory Group (Member) set up by the Scottish Government to give advice during the pandemic and in recovery planning.

Projects

McConnell has overseen multiple major infrastructure projects, including the £35 million refurbishment of

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. The building is located in Kelvingrove Park in the West End of the city, adjacent to Argyle Street. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Mu ...

(2006), an upgrade of the

Mitchell Library The Mitchell Library is a large public library located in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the largest public reference library in Europe, and the centre of Glasgow's public library system. History The library was initiall ...

, the £74 million

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

designed

Riverside Museum The Riverside Museum (replacing the preceding Glasgow Museum of Transport) is a museum in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, housed in a building designed by Zaha Hadid, Zaha Hadid Architects, with its River Clyde frontage at the new Point ...

(2012), which was named European museum of the year 2013, the £113 million

Emirates Arena The Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Arena, is an indoor arena and velodrome in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Scotland. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, these venues hosted the badmint ...

and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome (2012), £35 million phase 1

Kelvinhall Kelvinhall ('' Partick Cross'' until 1977) is an underground station on the Glasgow Subway, renamed after the nearby Kelvin Hall. It is located in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland, near to many of the city's best known tourist destinations i ...

development as a world class centre for heritage, learning, culture and sport (2015). The Burrell Collection, the c.£70 million project to refurbish and redisplay one of the world's finest single art collections, reopened in 2022.

Board memberships

McConnell was appointed as non-executive director of ScottishPower Renewables in 2022. She has been a Trustee of

National Museums Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; ) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections, and holds internationally important collec ...

since 2023. McConnell has been a council member of the

Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts a ...

since 2022. McConnell has been a trustee of Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland since 2020. In 2022, she was appointed chair of the Hunterian Strategic Development Board at The Hunterian museum and art galleries in Glasgow.

Personal life

While studying at

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, McConnell met and later married musician Richard Brown, and they had a daughter and a son. They divorced in 1987. She married politician

in 1990, who would become

in 2001.

Honours

McConnell was made a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 2015 in recognition of Services to Culture. She has been awarded four honorary doctorates:

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

(DHC, 2008), University of St Andrews (DLitt, 2008),

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

(DHC, 2013), and

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

(DUniv, 2014). As a wife of a peer, she is entitled to the courtesy style of Right Honorable and the courtesy title of Lady McConnell, but she does not use them in public.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McConnell, Bridget 1958 births Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Stirling Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Living people Scottish chief executives Spouses of life peers British women chief executives 21st-century Scottish businesswomen 20th-century Scottish businesspeople 21st-century Scottish businesspeople