PARTICK THISTLE have appointed businesswoman Jacqui Low to the Firhill board.

The respected communications professional is the first female to hold a boardroom position in the club's 139-year history and she is just the third in Scottish football as she follows in the footsteps of Justine Mitchell at Dundee United and Ann Budge of Hearts.

Low, Executive Chairman of Edinburgh-based communications consultancy Indigo, said: “It’s an honour to join the board at Thistle. I’ve shadowed the board for the last six months to be sure that this position was the right move for me and the club.

"I wouldn’t have accepted the role if I didn’t think I could make a difference, or if I thought this was a token gesture, but I certainly like what I have seen so far.

“It’s a genuinely exciting club with great ambition and a real drive to succeed.

"With the recent unveiling of mascot Kingsley, this is a club not afraid to take risks either and I have been impressed by that. However, the board is also focused on, and committed to, continuing to build a stable and strong club, allowing the focus to be on what’s happening on the pitch, and I am pleased to be able to play my part in that.

“I am also delighted to be the first female member of the board because diversity is what helps organisations grow and develop.

"I have experience in a range of sectors, as well as board skills, and will bring all of that to bear at Thistle.

"That’s what I hope I will be judged on - what I do for the club, no more no less.”

Low becomes the seventh member of the Firhill board and strengthens the Jags' top table ahead of the new Premiership campaign.

She joins chairman David Beattie and directors Billy Allan, Greig Brown, Ajay Chopra, Ian Dodd and Brian Donald.

Low is a former Ministerial Press Officer for the Scotland Office and Head of Communications and Research at the Scottish Conservative Party.

In recent years, she has held a number of board appointments, including vice-chairman of NHS 24 and two terms on the Council of CBI Scotland, as well as on the Court of the Merchant Company of Edinburgh.

She is currently a Trustee of Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, a member of the Partnership Drugs Initiative, an Ambassador for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation and a Director of St Mary’s Music School.

Low also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and chairman Beattie is delighted to have her on board at Firhill.

He said: “We are a football club first and foremost but, in a highly commercial era for the game, we have to operate as a business too.

"Like any business, we require a range of expertise to be successful and, over the last few years, we have built an experienced and successful board capable of supporting the club’s aspirations on and off the pitch.

“As a board, we are always on the lookout for additional skill sets to further strengthen the team.

"Having got to know her over the last couple of years, Jacqui’s clear strategic thinking, business skills and significant board experience elsewhere will prove extremely useful to Thistle.

"Her 30 years’ communications experience is also invaluable to the club, as she will be working closely with our media and communications department to make sure the great work that the club does, with schemes like Kids Go Free and Football Fans in Training, reaches the largest number of people possible.

“It was also important to us that we introduced diversity to the board at this club.

"It’s always been an all-male Board and that simply does not represent the demographic of our fans.

"We’re working hard to show that football is not the masculine dominated domain that it used to be and that’s why we approached Jacqui at the start of the year to join us and bring that different perspective.

"Firhill is an inclusive and welcoming place to come and watch football – I hope this new appointment reinforces that that isn’t just talk.”