Mark Dodson has dismissed any notion that criticism of Scottish Rugby’s handling of Siobhan Cattigan’s death played a part in his decision to call time on his near-13-year reign as chief executive.

The Englishman was appointed in September 2011 and his most recent contract, signed in 2022, was due to take him up to June 2025, but the 63-year-old revealed on Friday that he will instead depart this summer, declaring it “the perfect time” to move on.

Dodson’s announcement comes just two months after the governing body apologised – via a statement from recently-appointed chair John McGuigan – for the way it dealt with the death of 26-year-old Scotland Women international Cattigan in November 2021.

Cattigan’s family said undetected rugby-related brain damage caused a significant decline in her health, while they also criticised Scottish Rugby for its failure to inform some of her team-mates of the family’s wishes that they attend her funeral and also for not attempting to pay tribute to her at an international match until almost 18 months after her death.

Asked if the fallout from Cattigan’s death had been a factor in his decision to step down, Dodson said: “There is no connection. It is an upsetting affair and it’s been a difficult time for everybody, but it had no bearing on my decision at all.”

Dodson – who has polarised opinion throughout his reign – also played down claims that he is leaving Scottish Rugby in ailing health after the organisation reported a £10.5million loss for the last financial year.

“I think the business is performing really, really well,” he said. “When you look at statutory accounts and you see the losses there and you look widely, rugby’s in a tough place at the moment across the whole of the UK and the southern hemisphere.

“We’re trading well in a really difficult market so, from my point of view, the business is doing well and I’m happy with where we are on that.”

Dodson is adamant there was no pressure on him from anyone within Scottish Rugby to leave his position.

“None at all, it was entirely my decision,” he said. “I talked through with John McGuigan at length during the autumn and I suggested this was the right time to go. We agreed, we moved on.

“Several factors were in play to influence my decision. When we got back from the World Cup, I thought long and hard with the family and we believed it was only right that the next World Cup cycle be given to someone who is actually going to see it through.

“My contract was up until 2025. It was there to make sure we had continuity between the new governance structure and the new boards being bedded down.

“We’ve made tremendous progress on that. John and I have worked really closely together since he joined the business and the new strategy piece we are doing at the moment will run for a 10-year period.

“It was right for me to say ‘I think we should hand this over to someone who will be able to execute it over the long term’.

“The national teams are in good shape, the two pro teams are in good shape, we had a record crowd (for the 1872 Cup game between Edinburgh and Glasgow), we’ve got two nascent female teams just coming through.

“We felt it was the right time to move on. There are other things I want to do in my career and we felt it was the perfect time to do that.”

Mark Dodson has announced that he will step down from his position as chief executive of Scottish Rugby in the summer of 2024, bringing to an end a near-13-year reign.

The Englishman was appointed in September 2011 and his most recent contract, signed in 2022, was due to take him up to June 2025, but the 63-year-old revealed on Friday morning that he will instead depart this year.

Dodson’s decision comes in the wake of a financial year in which Scottish Rugby reported losses of £10million and faced criticism of the governing body’s handling of the death of Scotland Women international Siobhan Cattigan.

Scottish Rugby said in a statement: “The timing aligns with the start of the new Rugby World Cup cycle and also provides clarity for applicants as recruitment processes to appoint a new chief executive and performance director get underway”.

Dodson told Scottish Rugby: “I’ve been reflecting post the 2023 World Cup and felt it was the right time to bring my Scottish Rugby role to a close and begin looking forward to the next chapter in my career.

“With several key organisational elements now in place such as the new governance structure becoming operational, working closely with the new Scottish Rugby Limited Board chair John McGuigan and our national and professional teams settled I felt it was only right to make my intentions known.

“As work progresses on our new 10-year strategy and given I wasn’t going to be in post to see it delivered beyond 2025, I think it’s right and appropriate to give space for the new CEO to come in and take that important work forward.

“I’ve hugely enjoyed my time with Scottish Rugby so far and remain fully committed to our objectives in the coming months. Being chief executive of this great organisation for 13 years has been a privilege.”

McGuigan, appointed chair of Scottish Rugby last year, paid tribute to Dodson who was appointed just before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

“Mark has given over a decade of his career to Scottish Rugby so it is understandable that this was a significant decision,” he said.

“It will though enable us to progress the recruitment for the new performance director and his own successor as chief executive in an open and transparent manner and for that I’d like to thank him.

“Mark has made a significant contribution to Scottish Rugby during his tenure including navigating the Covid pandemic. I’d like to thank him personally for working with me and welcoming me into Scottish Rugby.

“The SRL Board and I will continue to draw on Mark’s extensive knowledge and expertise in the coming months until a date for Mark’s departure, which will be over the summer, is agreed.”