New head of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society appointed

Shona McCarthy has been appointed the chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe society.

McCarthy will take up the post in early March, following the departure of previous boss Kath Mainland, who has been appointed executive director of Melbourne Festival.

McCarthy was chief executive of the culture company, the organisation behind Derry-Londonderry's year as the UK City of Culture. Between 2009 and 2011 she was director of the British Council Northern Ireland.

McCarthy recieved a NESTA cultural leadership award and an Eisenhower Fellowship for Innovation in 2014.

Timothy O'Shea, chair of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: "I am delighted Shona will be joining the team at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society; she brings with her an exceptional resume of experience in the cultural sector and is an experienced and successful chief executive."

The Fringe Society is the organisation behind the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was established in 1958, eleven years after the birth of the Fringe. The Fringe Society is a registered charity and exists to support all participants.

McCarthy said of her appointment: "I am thrilled to be appointed chief executive of an organisation I have long admired. I have spent 25 years working in the cultural sector and have seen up close and personal the transformative power that art can have on people, on cities and on wellbeing. I passionately believe in personal and collective creativity as a force for good in a turbulent world."