Nicky Reid

Hear from our Film, Media and Sociology graduate, Nicky, on how studying her course at Stirling helped her to achieve her career goals. Nicky is CEO of the Scottish Professional Football League Trust and was the the first female CEO working at a national level in Scottish football. She received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Stirling in 2025 in recognition of her achievements.

The SPFL trust works with a network of associated trusts and clubs to improve the lives of people across Scotland using the unique power of football. In 2017 when I was made Chief Exec, I was the first female at national level. So I think it was particularly at that point I realised the importance of just being a female in that role.

How it began at Stirling

I initially really wanted to get into film and media when I was looking at universities. Stirling is well recognised for being a really strong university for that particular subject. The sporting connections that also exist at Stirling led me to be in the same place at the same time as different organisations, one of which was Falkirk Football Club. That connection led me into the career that I'm on.

My degree gave me a really good inner working of how media particularly works which helps as I now engage with the media relatively frequently. In the sociology part of my degree, a lot of what we did around employment and the social welfare system is a lot of the things I deal with on a day to day basis.

My advice to new students starting their journey

The things that you will learn won't just be the things you learn in seminars or in lectures, there will be a whole load of life lessons to learn as you go. It's really the start of the next phase of your life and you're laying the foundations for that.