Music charity Sistema Scotland has appointed Benny Higgins as its new chairman.
Next month, he will succeed Richard Holloway as head of the charity, which runs the Big Noise Douglas project in Dundee.
The charity works with children in deprived areas by teaching them to play musical instruments in order to build confidence and social skills.
It was launched in Scotland 10 years ago in Raploch in Stirling and had now expanded to Dundee, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Mr Higgins joins the Sistema Scotland Board in November 2018 and will become chairman from December 12.
Mr Higgins has held a number of senior executive roles in the banking sector, including with Standard Life, RBS and HBOS and became chief executive of Tesco Bank in 2008, retiring in February.
In June, he was appointed by the Scottish Government as strategic adviser for the establishment of the Scottish National Investment Bank. He is also chairman of the National Galleries of Scotland .
Mr Higgins said: “I am convinced from my own experience, growing up in both Govanhill, a community where Big Noise now works, and nearby Toryglen, of the transformative power of the arts and music, and the vital importance of ensuring they are inclusive and open to all.
“That is why I am excited to be appointed Chairman of Sistema Scotland. The charity has achieved a huge amount in its first 10 years and there is compelling independent evidence of the benefits accruing to the children and young people taking part.
“In taking up this role, I would also like to pay tribute to Richard Holloway: Sistema Scotland is his gift to our country and I will make it my mission to continue and grow this vital work for the benefit of some of our most vulnerable children, young people and communities across Scotland.”
Mr Holloway, who founded Sistema Scotland, said: “Benny brings extensive financial and business expertise coupled with the strategic vision to grow successful organisations.
“Together with his personal experience of both the communities we work in and the impact the arts has had on him, he is the perfect person to lead Sistema Scotland into the next 10 years.”
The role of chairman of Sistema Scotland is an unpaid, part-time position with a time commitment of around two to three days per month.
