Honorary award for ex-STV chief exec, Elmslie

THE former chief executive of Scottish Media Group – now STV Group plc – is to be presented with the honorary award of doctor of business administration by The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

Donald Emslie is to receive his award on Thursday.

Emslie was a main board director of SMG for seven years, and director of broadcasting at STV before becoming chief executive of the television division and, latterly, the chief executive of SMG plc.

He left the group in March three years ago after having, among other things, merged Scottish Television with Grampian Television and installing state-of-the-art new studios in Aberdeen and Glasgow.

During his time at SMG, he was also the chair of ITV Network Ltd and GMTV Ltd.

Since leaving SMG, not only has SMG renamed itself STV Group plc and pared itself down into a TV and digital company – insodoing, dispensing with its radio division, Virgin Radio, and its cinema advertising arm, Pearl & Dean – Emslie has developed his career as a non-executive director and sits on the board of Scottish Water and Scottish Rugby. He chairs the Royal Lyceum Theatre and the Scottish Zoological Society.

Until this year he was on the board of Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Television Society and the Royal Society of Arts.