The Chief Executive of Edinburgh Council, Sue Bruce, has been appointed a non-Executive Director of SSE plc.

When Ms Bruce takes up her appointment from 1 September 2013, the Board of SSE will comprise two Executive Directors and six non-Executive Directors, as well as the Chairman.

Of these, six are men and three are women.

Bruce has been Chief Executive of Edinburgh council since 2011, having previously been Chief Executive of Aberdeen City Council and of East Dunbartonshire Council.

The City of Edinburgh Council directly employs 15,000 people (FTEs) and is responsible for an annual revenue budget of £1bn and an annual capital budget of £150m. Its principal operating departments are children and families, services for communities, economic development and health and social care.

She has requested of SSE that all non-Executive Director's fees due to her while she is an employee of the City of Edinburgh Council be given to charitable concerns that operate in, or benefit the city of Edinburgh, beyond any amount required to fulfil her obligation as a Board member to purchase shares in the company.

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Each Director of SSE plc is subject to annual re-election, and Ms Bruce will stand for re-election to the Board at the company's first Annual General Meeting after she takes up her appointment. That AGM will be held in July 2014.

Lord Smith of Kelvin, Chairman of SSE, said: "I am absolutely delighted that Sue Bruce is joining SSE's Board. It is often said that the public sector has much to learn from business. I believe the same is true in reverse and that Sue's experience and knowledge of the public sector will be invaluable.

"More generally, her outstanding track record as the head of an organisation that provides services on which hundreds of thousands of people depend and also makes significant capital investments means she is very well-qualified to serve on the Board of a company like SSE."

Ms Bruce added: "It's a privilege to have been offered this opportunity to join the Board of SSE, one of Scotland's most successful companies. I'm looking forward to contributing to the critical service that SSE provides for customers, the environment and the wider economy.

"I do, however, also see this as a mutually beneficial arrangement and a natural extension of the partnership approach that the Council already has with many companies. There is much from my experience that I hope to bring to the Board, but the Council's services can equally benefit through sharing the good practices of the private sector."

(JP/CD)