The Scottish Rugby governing body has announced the appointment of Alex Williamson as its new chief executive.

Williamson replaces the previous Scottish Rugby chief executive, the long-serving Mark Dodson, who announced his departure from the organisation in January. despite having a contract that ran until June 2025.

Dodson held the role since 2011. His departure reportedly stemmed from the dire financial straits at the body.

Williamson will begin the role in early 2025 and his appointment comes at a fraught time for the governing body, which has logged over £10 million (£13 million) in losses in each of its last two financial accounting periods.

Scottish Rugby stated that Williamson “has a proven track record of achieving commercial growth, accelerating the transformation of established businesses to achieve improved performance,” and “extensive knowledge of membership models, ticket sales, hospitality and sponsorship agreements, major build projects and multi-layer governance structures.”

Williamson joins Scottish Rugby from Inspiring Learning, a private equity education service, where he was appointed chief executive in 2019.

Before that, Williamson spent over nine years at the Goodwood Group, the managing company of the renowned motorsport and horse racing estate, where he began as chief financial officer before becoming chief executive in 2013, a role he maintained until 2017 when he departed to become chief executive of the House of Fraser retail chain.

Speaking on his appointment, Williamson stated: “There are many opportunities ahead for the sport globally and locally and I see no reason why Scotland cannot continue to be a positive force in the world game and within the wider sporting community.”

Scottish Rugby Union chair Lorne Crerar added: “I have been very impressed with Alex’s understanding of the key issues and opportunities facing us.”