The Chief Executive of Edinburgh homelessness charity, Cyrenians for the last dozen years, Ewan Aitken, has announced his resignation.
The charity boss who is a former Labour leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, and an ordained minister, also held roles at COSLA and in the Church of Scotland. The resignation is announced as a “planned transition” by the charity which aims to prevent homelessness and supporting people to build stable futures.
Now he has decided to step down, having led the Cyrenians through a period of growth, doubling the size of the charity and increasing the number of people it helps each year.
Ewan said: “It has been a huge privilege to be part of the Cyrenians Homelessness Prevention journey for the last 12 years. We’ve seen the lives of those we support changed on their terms, we’ve created a better understanding of the causes and consequences of homelessness, we’ve built a strong organisation based on our values of compassion, integrity, respect and innovation and we’ve shown in action why the solutions to homelessness require a public health approach across all three sectors.”
He added: “It will be very hard to leave Cyrenians. I am very proud of all we have achieved. My colleagues are amongst the most amazing people I have ever worked with, but I will be 64 this year and after 12 years as CEO and over 30 years of leadership roles in the public and charity sectors, I need to slow down a little. I don’t know what I will do next, but announcing my departure is the first set to finding out.
“I am incredibly grateful to my wonderful colleagues and to the Board of Trustees at Cyrenians for the trust they have placed in me and for the support and care they have shown me over these past 12 years. Whoever replaces me will be joining a wonderfully creative and passionate team”.
John Lawrie, chair of Cyrenians Board of Trustees, said: “It has been a privilege for me to work with Ewan Aitken throughout his twelve years as chief executive. For Cyrenians it has been a time of growth in size, in influence and in scale of achievement, for all of which he deserves credit.
“The board regrets his decision to stand down, while fully understanding the reasons. We wish him well and will ensure that Cyrenians can build on his legacy.”
Cyrenians will begin recruitment for a replacement Chief Executive shortly.
