Edinburgh University has appointed a businessman with expertise in managing change to run its finance, human resources and estates services as part of a radical American-style restructuring.
Nigel Paul has been finance, IT and planning director of ICI Halochemicals since 1996, a multinational business with a £900 million turnover.
He will take up a newly created post of director of corporate services as Edinburgh shifts from its nine-faculty system to three colleges.
It is breaking with tradition in making only one internal promotion to the new senior management posts: John Savill, professor of medicine and director of the Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research, will head the new College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.
Edinburgh has also recruited Grahame Bulfield, currently director of the Roslin Institute, as head of its college of science and engineering.
Last month, Vicki Bruce, deputy principal for research at Stirling University, was announced as head of the new college of humanities and social sciences, which brings together arts, divinity, education, music, law and social sciences.