Graham Smith

Graham is Head of Investment, International & Innovation at Glasgow City Council with responsibility for Invest Glasgow, the Innovation Economy, Green Economy, Digital Economy, Film Office and the Council’s Community Grant programme. He works strategically with both UK and Scottish government, as well as a range of stakeholders across the public, private and academic sectors to deliver on the city’s economic ambitions. Over the last two years, Graham has overseen the delivery of the £43m Innovation Accelerator programme, as well as the £27m Shared Prosperity Fund. More recently, he has led on the development of the city’s International Strategy and currently developing the city’s vehicle for Climate Investment to deliver on Glasgow’s net-zero carbon ambitions, as well as driving strategic partnerships as a model for attracting investment into the city. His previous roles in the Council include leading on the city’s business support activity where he developed the current business support framework to help grow Glasgow’s SME base. Prior to joining the Council in 2014, Graham worked in Lifelong Learning at the University of Strathclyde where he managed a number of European-funded programmes, working collaboratively with organisations across Europe as well as the European Commission. He also completed his MBA at Strathclyde Business School in 2008. Graham is a non-executive Director at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) and has previously held non-executive positions with Hub West, Business Loans Scotland, West of Scotland Loan Fund and Cardonald College.