St Andrews
Simon Pepper OBE

Simon Pepper was elected Rector of St Andrews in 2005, having stood for the position on the platform of being a 'working rector'. He spent 2-3 days each month in St Andrews attending student events, holding surgeries, and attending meetings of the University Court. Simon was also heavily involved in the creation of the Scottish Rectors' Group and the Rectors' Handbook. His term as Rector expired in October 2008, and though he did not seek re-election he worked hard to encourage students to search for his successor.

Hailing from nearby Perthshire, Simon is married with five children. Professionally, he was the Director of the World Wildlife Fund (Scotland) for twenty years, retiring in June 2005. This charity is part of a global confederation of WWF (the environment body, not the wrestlers) that drives environmental policy over a wide range of issues: forestry, fishing, agriculture and climate change.

Simon is widely acknowledged to have built WWF into one of the most influential environment groups in Scotland and to have helped shape Scotland's environmental agenda. From the sole member of staff in 1985, he built an effective team of 18, working successfully across a wide portfolio of environmental issues.

Awarded an OBE in the Millennium Honours List for his services to Sustainable Development, Simon continues to serve on a number of high level government committees in Scotland including Forestry Commission and the Deer Commission. He brings his passion on sustainable development to the University, supporting a wide variety of initiatives aimed at reducing this institution's global ecological footprint.

Simon was instrumental in setting up the Millennium Forest for Scotland, a £27 million initiative to create or restore 23,000 hectares of native woodland, all open to the public. Under his direction WWF Scotland has successfully lobbied for National Parks for Scotland and for an end to post-war policies and the tax breaks of the 1980s that led to Scottish hills being dominated by conifer plantations. He was one of the founders of Scottish Environment Link in 1987.

Prior to joining WWF, Simon ran his own business. In 1972 he worked for one year as a United Nations Volunteer in Chad.