The RIAS have announced that Mary Wrenn has resigned as Chief Executive of the Royal Incorporation of Architects Scotland and will leave in August after more than two years in the post.
Mary said she was pleased to have been a “catalyst for change” in the RIAS, taking the lead in creating a new corporate identity, developing a 5-year Strategic Plan and consolidating the RIAS’s financial position.
An Honorary Fellow of the RIBA and former Director of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales, Mary commented: “In my appointment the RIAS recognised the need to modernise both its internal procedures and its external profile. I am pleased to have played a key role in the first stages of this transformation. For personal reasons I feel that I cannot commit to the length of time required to steering the next phase of change for the RIAS, and it is for this reason that I have decided to hand on the baton at this stage.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those members and staff colleagues who have worked with me in facing the sometimes testing challenge of bringing about necessary change at the RIAS -- and to say how much I have enjoyed getting to know better Scotland’s rich built heritage and creative contemporary architectural culture. The practice environment presents many challenges, ranging from the retention of Scottish talent and building an internationally recognised design profile, to the battles over procurement methods and the need to create truly sustainable communities."
The incoming RIAS President, Arnie Dunn, of Edinburgh practice Campbell + Arnott, said: “We are sorry to be losing Mary. She has successfully led the Incorporation through a crucial phase in its development by setting the RIAS on the path to longer-term governance reform. She has re-introduced the competitions unit and taken the RIAS Andrew Doolan Award to new heights. Her dedication to developing the RIAS staff team has been particularly welcome.”
