Chief Executive - Stephen Pathirana

Stephen was recently appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA), which administers the pensions of public sector workers.

A civil servant for over 20 years, Stephen is driven by the potential to make the future better, which will be a key focus in his new role as the SPPA works to improve the service it delivers for its 640,000 members. Stephen will also be working to ensure SPPA has a culture that supports wellbeing and development, where everyone feels valued for the contribution they make.

His previous roles include Director of the Lifelong Learning and Skills Directorate in core Scottish Government, Acting Director of Justice, Deputy Director for Trade and Investment Delivery and Deputy Director for Scotland's Grenfell Response. Stephen started his career as a research scientist at Edinburgh University and has a PhD in Developmental Biology, he has also worked for the UK Government and the European Commission.

Deputy CEO - Kate Thomson-McDermott

Kate recently joined SPPA in September 2025.  She has over 16 years of experience working in Scottish Government in a variety of policy and legal roles. Over the last 6 years, Kate has worked in the social security programme leading on policy and legislation to support the delivery of the safe and secure transfer of disability and carer benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland – protecting the payments of 700,000 people, worth £5.8bn a year – and supporting the delivery of Carer Support Payment, a major social security benefit, providing £500m direct support to over 100,000 unpaid carers across Scotland annually. This role developed Kate’s belief in the importance of getting processes right so that policy and operations are developed and delivered in tandem, supporting each other to achieve the best outcomes for people. As well as supporting the CEO, Kate has responsibility for: 

  • Policy
  • Strategy and Governance
  • Finance 

Chief Operating Officer - Christopher Nairns

Christopher joined SPPA in November 2023. With over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, he brings a deep commitment to operational efficiency and member-centric service. He brings a set of strategic pillars that encompass people empowerment, product development, integrated governance, systems leverage, and performance improvement. 

The Chief Operating Officer oversees the following areas: 

  • Pre-Retirement services
  • NHS Retirement
  • Teachers Retirement
  • Police & Fire Retirement
  • Data Management
  • Payroll services
  • Bereavement support

Chief Transformation Officer - Frances Graham

Frances joined the SPPA as Chief Operating Officer in March 2023 and moved to the role of Chief Transformation Officer in January 2025. Frances was born and brought up in Musselburgh, moving to Peebles in the Scottish Borders in 2000. Frances is married to Don and has 3 grown sons and a grandson. Frances has a background in project management and has been a senior operational manager for over 30 years, with the last 17 years in Life Pensions and Investments. 

The Chief Transformation Officer is responsible for the following SPPA functions: 

  • Legislative Operational Change
  • Business Transformation
  • Annual Event Projects
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Service Management and Testing
  • IT

Head of People and Place - Debbie Trafford

Debbie is from Northumberland. She was an Army Officer in the Royal Artillery, where she served in Afghanistan and the Falkland Islands on a range of missile and radar systems. She joined the SPPA in 2020, and is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.

The Head of People is responsible for the following departments:

  • Human Resources
  • Learning & Development
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