Cat Leaver

Cat Leaver

Director of Strategy and Competitive Intelligence, VisitScotland

An award-winning strategic leader with experience across the private and public sectors, Cat took up the role of Director of Strategy and Competitive Intelligence at VisitScotland in 2024.She had previously led departments across VisitScotland, ranging from user experience (UX) and front-end development to creative, content, PR, and global marketing campaigns.

Before joining VisitScotland, Cat was the inaugural Director of Brand Scotland, where she led a cross-agency initiative to enhance Scotland’s global profile. She also spent more than seven years in the digital agency world, leading teams in London, Manchester, and Glasgow, and serving a diverse global client base.

Cat is an ambassador for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice and has held non-executive board positions, as well as advisory board roles with City Nation Place and The Marketing Society of Scotland.

What would you like to see in the judging room?

Constructive challenge and a mix of perspectives. Creative solutions should be fuelled by insight and clear purpose, and these factors allow judges to really interrogate entries and their own thinking. A great judging panel will be able to make their case whilst also really hearing the views of others. This requires a panel with a diverse mix of expertise, experience and backgrounds.

What will you be looking for in the submitted work? I’m always on the lookout for creative work that has a clear purpose. Winning entries are a balance of form and function, where the design can intrigue and inspire but the work also clearly demonstrates how it supports the outcome. Award criteria provide a clear framework around which to document and evidence design thinking in a way that can, when leveraged effectively, create a great framework for exploration and debate.