A business chief has been awarded an honorary doctorate for his contributions to sport.
Ian Beattie MBE, chair of UK Athletics and a director at St Mirren FC, was recognised by Glasgow Caledonian University during a ceremony at the city’s Royal Concert Hall.
The Renfrewshire-raised business executive said he was "grateful" for the recognition, which acknowledges his long-standing commitment to athletics and sport more widely.
Ian, who grew up in Kilbarchan and attended high school in Paisley, said: "To be able to contribute to a sport that I love is an honour and it’s lovely to be recognised in this way.
"These sorts of things come out of the blue and are just a nice surprise.
"I am really grateful to Glasgow Caledonian University for this.
"What’s really nice about this is that it’s not just about the higher profile roles I have had, but my involvement in the grassroots side, including coaching endurance groups and being involved in a number of clubs and committees.
"To have someone recognise the range of that means a lot."
Ian serves as chief operating officer at Lindsays, one of Scotland’s leading independent legal firms.
He is responsible for overseeing the firm’s financial and operational performance and is a chartered accountant and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
He has also volunteered as a director of St Mirren FC since 2025.
His career in athletics includes serving as former long-serving chair of scottishathletics, vice-chair of both sportscotland and SAMH, and as former race director for the West Highland Way Race.
He is also an accomplished endurance runner and athletics coach.
Ian uses his business experience in all his sporting roles.
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He said: "So much is about strong relationships.
"I’ve always been a big believer in that.
"At Lindsays we have strong teams who work together.
"I encourage that in sport too.
"It’s about getting really good people and giving them an environment where they can flourish, enjoy work, do their best and give them the chance to develop."
Ian was awarded an MBE in 2020 for services to athletics.
Lindsays recently expanded its Glasgow presence through a merger with Dallas McMillan, taking effect from September 1.
This will increase its Glasgow-based team to 123 and bring its total headcount across all offices to 417.
Lindsays is also a long-standing supporter of grassroots sport in Scotland.
The firm has extended its sponsorship of scottishathletics’ cross country season to its recently concluded road race series, which included a record 1450 combined field competing in the 5k and 10k events in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The dual sponsorship deal will run until 2029.
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Nina Taylor, chair of Lindsays, said: "Everyone at the firm is delighted for Ian and this well-deserved recognition.
"As a business, we encourage our team to support their communities and causes close to their hearts.
"Ian really leads by example on that."
Last month, Lindsays marked the countdown to the return of the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow by hosting the Lindsays Sports Forum – Celebrating a Summer of Athletics.
This event saw Ian lead a panel discussion featuring Olympian Denise Lewis, Eilidh Doyle and UK Athletics chief executive and former Olympian Jack Buckner.
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