Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) used both words and music to pay tribute to the development agency's first chairman at the official opening of its new Inverness headquarters on Wednesday 8 May.

Cowan House, on Inverness Retail and Business Park, is named after the late Sir Robert Cowan, who steered the fledgling HIE network through its first eighteen months in 1991/92, following a decade in charge of its predecessor organisation, the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB).

It was fitting, then, that the guests of honour at the opening were Sir Robert's widow, Margaret and daughter Frances, both of whom were welcomed by HIE's present chairman, Dr Jim Hunter, and chief executive Sandy Cumming.

Lady Cowan unveiled a glass plaque in the building's reception area, commemorating her husband's contribution to the area's regeneration, before piper Iain Hamilton performed a short tune he had composed for the occasion.

Completed in January this year, the three-storey Cowan House is home to 190 staff and was purpose-built to meet HIE's 21st century requirements.

Dr Hunter said that the members of the HIE board had been unanimous in agreeing to name the building after Sir Robert.

"After a long period of economic contraction and population decline, the Highlands and Islands are today on the way back and on the way up," he said.

"Our economy is diversifying.  Our population is rising. More and more people want to live here.

"This success is in no small part due to the work of Bob Cowan.

"When, 20 years ago, Bob was just appointed chairman of the HIDB, he was regarded with some suspicion - as someone who'd spent the previous seven years in Hong Kong and, as a result, was little known in Scotland.

"Within months, however, people here in the Highlands and Islands realised that, in Bob Cowan, they'd acquired a new champion - a man prepared to fight for their interests, a man with a profound respect for their beliefs, a man who devoted himself to helping realise their ambitions.

"In some ways, at HIE, we're still working to Bob Cowan's agenda - not least in relation to the University of the Highlands and Islands project, which was very much his brainchild.

"More broadly, we continue to be inspired by his vision of the Highlands and Islands as a place which, if we get things right, will be able to offer first-rate opportunities to all its people."

Sandy Cumming said Cowan House was already proving a much more suitable working environment than HIE's previous premises.

"In terms of floorspace, Cowan House is around one third smaller than our old office, but it is also a much more efficient building which in turn is enabling staff to work more efficiently," he said.

"I am particularly pleased that it was designed, built and paid for by a private sector company.  That's a real vote of confidence in the local economy - and an excellent deal for taxpayers."