Edinburgh Napier University’s Head of Employer Engagement, Fiona Forrest-Anderson, has been recognised at a prestigious awards ceremony which celebrates the links between business and the armed forces.

Described as the 'Oscars of veteran employment', the Scottish Forces in Business Awards were held in Glasgow last night, with Fiona named Business Leader of the Year.

Outwith her role at ENU, Fiona is a key member of the Edinburgh Napier Armed Forces Network, a group for employees and students who wish to show support to the armed forces community.

Fiona also works alongside the University’s Centre for Military Research Education and Public Engagement (CMREPE), which was set up in 2020 with the aim of creating policy-shaping armed forces research and evidence.

The 2025 edition of the Scottish Forces in Business Awards recognised 12 winners from a total of more than 300 nominations. Their achievements were celebrated by leading figures from business, military and politics.

Reacting to her award, Fiona said:

“My military experience profoundly shaped my leadership and values, and those values have stayed with me despite going on to work in organisations very different to that in which I wore a uniform.

“I still view the leadership of others as a great privilege, and I have an incredibly talented team at Edinburgh Napier and am part of the sector-leading Centre for Military Research, Education and Public Engagement.

“This prestigious award is also for them.”

Fiona’s award last night follows a win at the same event 12 months ago for Edinburgh Napier University, when CMREPE’s Director, Professor Gerri Matthews-Smith, was named Advocate of the Year.

Meanwhile just a few weeks ago Claire Biggar, the Public Engagement Lead for the Centre, was made an MBE in the New Year Honours list.

The recent awards success is part of a strong series of achievements which link Edinburgh Napier University and the armed forces.

ENU continues to lead groundbreaking research into life for military personnel and veterans, and held the first conference to be centred around the role of the armed forces in Scottish society last summer.

Edinburgh Napier’s Craiglockhart campus also has a storied armed forces past, serving as a military hospital during the First World War. Today it houses the War Poets Collection, as it was the place where poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon met in 1917.