Paul Johnston

Chief Executive Officer, Public Health Scotland

A man smiling, wearing a white shirt with a red tie. There is a pink flower in the background and a laptop in the foreground.

Paul has a wealth of public sector leadership experience, becoming CEO of Public Health Scotland in March 2023 following a career in Scottish Government, where he was a Director General since June 2015. In his most recent role as Director General for Communities, Paul led a portfolio that included social security, housing, local government, equality, human rights and public service reform. Paul was part of the Scottish Government’s Executive Team and led cross-government work on tackling child poverty and COVID-19 recovery. He has worked in a variety of roles across government since 2000, beginning his career as a lawyer.