“We have the ear of government” Clare Winskill, Owner, Coruisk House and IoD Highlands & Islands Co-Chair

I was brought up in West Sussex and spent many happy holidays in the Highlands visiting my grandparents in Assynt. I left school at 17 and trained as nurse, working at Guys Hospital in Intensive Care. My experiences as a patient advocate inspired me to retrain as a lawyer – I studied at Kings College London before practising as an insolvency solicitor in the London offices of international law firm DLA Piper UK LLP. I was appointed Associate in 2008 and acted for lenders both before, during and after the 2008 financial crisis.

My love affair with the Highlands and Islands, which began as a child, continued into adulthood and when my career reached a crossroads, I began to look for a different kind of life in this beautiful part of the world. In 2011 I bought Coruisk House with my partner Iain in the fishing village of Elgol on the spectacular Isle of Skye.

To be honest, we took this bold step without much research or due diligence. It was a huge risk, but now we run a converted croft house as a small hotel and restaurant, offering our guests an oasis of comfort in a stunning setting. Our success is based on our commitment to quality and authenticity. I make all our bread and Iain cooks dishes from scratch containing locally sourced fish, shellfish, venison, pork, beef and lamb in our restaurant. Living on Skye offers such an incredible work-life balance – we are only ever five minutes away from the mountains!

We were lucky that tourism thrived during our first ten years in business, with more people coming to the area in search of good food, accommodation, and island experiences. Of course, in 2020 Covid stopped everything in its tracks and since then our industry has faced considerable challenges, including Scotland’s Short-term Let Licensing regulation and now the impending Visitor Levy.

I have been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to hold positions as a voluntary non-executive director with national tourism membership organisations the Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers, and the Scottish Tourism Alliance, the leading representative body for the tourism sector in Scotland. With this increased leadership experience, I was ready to put myself forward for the role of Co-Chair of the IoD Highlands and Islands when the position became available in 2023. I share this role with Alison Wilson, Investment and Development Manager at the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport,

When I joined the IoD I didn’t anticipate that it would be such a fantastic networking organisation, both for individuals and organisations. Our membership is representative of a broad collection of businesses and is a very influential voice in Scotland. We have the ear of government which puts us in a unique position to support our business communities during this period of considerable change.

I am delighted that the influx of green energy providers and the Freeport will bring thousands of well-paid, skilled jobs and economic growth to this area.  However, the benefits delivered by renewables must be balanced with their impact on communities and the tourism industry. Local people have been overwhelmed by the speed of change.

I am passionate that we don’t lose what makes this place so special for the people who live, work and visit the area. I am working hard to improve my own leadership skills and am on the pathway to becoming an IoD Chartered Director.  I feel sure that the training and events offered by IoD Scotland, can be part of the important process of building on the leadership skills in the Highlands and Islands as well as creating a new cohort of leaders to carry our area forward; to increase the pace of economic growth and embed cross-sector economic resilience. at this exciting time of progress and development.