Scottish Rugby appoints McKay to Chief Operating Officer and welcomes Howat to the Board

Scottish Rugby has strengthened its senior management team with the appointments of Dominic McKay to Chief Operating Officer and Robert Howat to the Board.McKay, who joined Scottish Rugby in January 2008, had his initial role expanded to Director of Commercial Operations, Communications & Public Affairs following the appointment of Chief Executive Mark Dodson in 2011.The new COO position brings an increased portfolio for McKay, which now includes the management of the BT Murrayfield stadium facilities alongside his commercial, marketing, pro team and sponsorship responsibilities.General Counsel Robert Howat has been invited onto the Board as a Director in recognition of his contribution to the organisation and guidance over recent years.Howat joined Scottish Rugby as General Counsel in January 2013 to lead its Legal and Governance team, and has recently taken on responsibility for its HR and business service departments.Scottish Rugby Chief Executive Mark Dodson said: “It is a great example of the strength Scottish Rugby has at executive level that senior staff of the quality of Dominic and Robert can be acknowledged.”We are evolving our corporate structure to ensure we can continue to deliver continued commercial, operational and ultimately sporting success for the sport in this country and I am delighted Dominic and Robert will play a key part in that progress in their new roles.”McKay has led the development of Scottish Rugby’s growing sponsor family, which features BT, RBS and Macron and generated record revenue streams to support national, professional and domestic rugby.He has also played a central role, in partnership with local government and EventScotland, in bringing international rugby events to Scotland, with the recent awarding of the 2017 European Champions Cup Final and 2016 Guinness Pro12 final to BT Murrayfield.