Our People

Don Ledingham has had a lifelong interest in education and leadership. His career began as a teacher, university lecturer, headteacher at Dunbar Grammar School, and Executive Director of Education in East Lothian and Midlothian Councils.

As a school leader he developed a software system to evaluate the quality of teaching based upon the opinion of students. This system was identified as an example of International good practice by the OECD, and contributed to the school becoming one of the 10 most improved schools in Scotland. Between 2007 and 2013 he wrote a monthly column for the Times Educational Supplement with a focus on leadership, and appeared in the top ten global educational influencers on two occasions (2007 & 2010). His post-graduate research focused on studying cultural change and the impact of leadership behaviour, which evolved over a 20-year period into the Ceannas methodology. He authored “A Small Step to Wise Leadership” (2015) and “The Wisdom of Knowing You Know Nothing” (2021).

Don’s Hinterland includes being an honorary professor at Queen Margaret University; Edinburgh; an award-winning poet; and playing rugby against the New Zealand All Blacks. He subscribes to the words of Seamus Heaney: ”Believe that a further shore is reachable from here”.

Lewis Ledingham is the Chief Executive of the Ceannas Group. His remit covers all operational areas of the business with a primary focus of heading up the overarching growth strategy of the organisation. Lewis has a very strong business development background which couples with his experience of being a senior leader with one of the world’s leading staffing and services organisations. During his time with Allegis Group, he led a number of large teams across multiple offices and was responsible for overall growth strategy, planning and delivery of business operations. He has significant experience of working with senior executive leaders in a wide variety of organisations to tailor services to meet their needs.

Lewis puts relationships at the centre of the values he lives by, both professionally and personally. He is passionate about building teams with high performance cultures, that enable each and every person to enjoy their work and to feel empowered and motivated to push themselves to their potential and beyond. Going hand in hand with this is his enthusiasm for providing a world-class customer experience. Above all, Lewis understands the importance of great leadership on organisations and the people who work in them, and is committed to helping that to become reality for all Ceannas clients.

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Sophie Zoeller is Chief Customer Officer at Ceannas. She is responsible for the delivery of Ceannas Programmes and Workshops, and a first point of contact in terms of client relationships. Sophie is also the driving force behind our brand strategy, including how we work with local charities and organisations to help us fulfil our commitment to the needs of the wider society beyond our clients.

Sophie was brought up in Kenmare, County Kerry, in the South of Ireland. She came to Edinburgh in 2012 to complete her Masters degree in Human Cognitive Neuropsychology at the University of Edinburgh, before going on to work in the Tech sector delivering and managing a range of complex projects.

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Yvonne McCracken is an executive consultant with Ceannas and has a national reputation in the field of educational leadership. She is highly sought after by government and organisations to design and deliver units of learning, learning activities and learning environments for senior leaders. Yvonne holds a Master’s Degree in Education, and MSc in Research, Advanced Policy and Practice combined with extensive and significant experience of senior leadership positions at directorate level – with a focus on education and training.

Yvonne is responsible for developing Ceannas Education , which focuses on delivering practical advice and strategies for emerging senior leaders across the education sector. Her skill lies in being able to translate complex concepts of learning and leadership into activities, resources and content that inspire, inform and enable people to make a positive difference to the lives of those they lead and the organisations in which they work.

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Sinéad O’Brien is an executive consultant with Ceannas and brings exceptional senior executive leadership experience to her role. Sinéad is a Leadership Coach and People Strategy advisor. Before becoming an independent consultant, Sinéad has over 20 years’ experience working as an HR professional (she is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD) and partnering with leaders of business to create and implement exceptional people strategies to support business growth.

During that time, Sinéad worked at Allegis Group, the world’s largest privately owned talent management business, as their European Executive Director for People. She put in place and executed a people agenda to support the European wide business strategy. Her passion is specifically on the topics of employee engagement; high performing teams; behaviours and culture; and leadership development.

Prior to this, she spent over 10 years working at PwC, a professional services firm, where she worked as an HR Business Partner supporting leaders on their people strategy and agenda as well as coaching and facilitating on their leadership development programmes.

Sinéad has huge experience in helping emerging and experienced leaders be even better at what they do. She has impact on the people she works with through her ease of building relationships and trust but also by applying necessary challenge and insight. Sinéad quickly seeks to understand what is important to the leaders she works with, has a curiosity to learn about them as leaders, their business and its growth ambitions. She is a qualified and very experienced senior executive leadership coach.

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Gill Wilkinson has served in the Army for over 30 years, initially as a Regular Officer and now as a Reservist. She has led soldiers on operations in Northern Ireland and The Balkans and worked across a range of specialist logistic, human resources, and training roles, including as an assessor of leadership potential at the Army Officer Selection Board. She was the Deputy Commander of The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 2018–2020 and served as the Deputy Military Secretary Reserves until 2025, where she was responsible for career development policy and talent management of the Army’s Reserve component.

Most recently, she attended the prestigious Global Strategy Programme at the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS). As the UK’s premier institution for strategic leadership, RCDS prepares senior military officers and civil servants from around the world to operate at the highest levels of international security and grand strategy.

For the past ten years, Gill has delivered leadership assessment and development programmes across sectors as diverse as the NHS and professional sport. She holds a postgraduate qualification in Education from the University of Edinburgh. A successful sportswoman in her earlier years, she captained her university hockey team and—through the quirk of being in the right place at the right time—represented the Army in Bobsleigh, placing second in the British Bobsleigh Championships in 1997. She enjoys most outdoor activities and is too easily persuaded to sign up for events which require significantly more training miles than they used to!

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Lee Smith is an Executive Consultant at Ceannas, offering a wealth of expertise garnered from an extensive 25-year journey in Change and Technology within the realm of financial services with HSBC. As an IT Director within the Securities Services function, Lee had a reputation for creating and leading high-calibre, diverse and innovative, globally distributed teams. His passion lay in fostering collaborative ecosystems and championing Agile methodologies, all while nurturing an environment that prioritises psychological safety across the organisational spectrum.

With a foundation rooted in Sports Science and Sports Psychology, Lee brings a unique perspective to the table, underpinned by his dedication to individuals’ growth and development. His experience as a qualified and accredited Executive Coach has led him to engage with diverse clientele spanning various industries and all organisational levels on a global scale.

Lee has an exceptional ability to forge profound connections and cultivate trust. He places paramount importance on creating spaces where individuals can candidly explore their challenges and opportunities, and articulate their aspirations without reservation. His dedication to creating psychologically safe environments is key, as he empowers individuals to embark on transformative journeys with confidence.