After 20 years at Silverburn David Pierotti is stepping down as General Manager from Scotland’s top large retail and leisure destination. Having started his career as a Saturday boy at Burton’s, and working his way to general manager, he’s seen the role transform from a facilities management focus to customer service and guest experience-driven leadership.

Now, as Diarmuid Donohoe prepares to take the reins at the 1million+ sq ft Glasgow destination, both reflect on what’s changed, what matters most, and what makes a great centre manager in 2026.

Silverburn has had an exceptional year. Named UK Retail Destination of the Year at the 2025 SCEPTRE Awards, REVO’s Best Asset Management Initiative and winner of The Glasgow Business Award for Best Performing Large Business, the scheme welcomed a record 16.5 million visitors in 2025.

New openings including Zara, H Beauty, Bershka, Haribo, Kenji, Oliver Bonas, Jo Malone, and King Pins are just some of the new brands that have reinforced Silverburn’s position as Scotland’s leading retail and leisure destination over the past year, while Glasgow’s first Sephora will debut at the centre this summer.

Silverburn also received multiple accolades at the national Loo of the Year Awards, including the ‘Period Dignity’ award – recognition that reflects the attention to detail that defines Silverburn’s approach to guest experience.

“The role has changed a lot,” David explains. “Retailers now, quite rightly, want value for money. They’ll seek advice, they’ll seek guidance. The role’s much more a service role than it used to be. As a retailer previously, I always collaborated well with the general manager, so it’s been a natural progression for me to develop the role as I have done over the last 20 years.”

David’s journey has led him through “an amazing career,” he says. “I started off as a Saturday boy in Burton’s, and now I’m managing the best shopping centre in the UK.”

When David started in shopping centres, the focus was predominantly facilities-driven – making sure the building functions, and dealing with operations. Now it’s about creating an environment where retailers can succeed, and where guests want to spend their time. It’s a completely different focus, one that requires thinking about the entire customer journey, rather than just what happens inside the building.

“Guest experience is certainly more important than it may have been in the past,” says incoming general manager Diarmuid Donohoe, who has worked alongside David for 12 years. “But guest experience starts at home and there are touchpoints throughout the entire journey. It could start with a social media post, so we want that premium quality feel to reach you on your phone at home. Then, when you arrive at the centre, it’s about whether you can find a parking space easily. And then it then it leads you into the centre itself.”

This holistic approach has shaped every decision at Silverburn, explains Diarmuid: “For us, the ultimate goal is to be part of that Saturday morning conversation when families are deciding where they want to spend their day. We want Silverburn to be that destination of choice – something that appeals to all the family. That’s why things like the kids play area, family room, award-winning toilets, premium soft seating where people can relax – all of this builds that exceptional guest experience so people want to spend their day here.”

Diarmuid is clear about what drives success in the role. “David’s somebody that cares as passionately about this place as I do, and that’s what I’ve learned most – you can’t do this job well unless you genuinely care about the destination, the team, and the community. The technical skills can be learned, but that authentic passion for making Silverburn the best it can be, that’s what drives everything else.”

The results speak for themselves: last year Silverburn’s achievements were recognised with numerous awards. “The epitome was Large UK Destination of the Year (at the Sceptre Awards). That was a very proud moment for us all David says. “And it just feels right now to move on and allow somebody else to pick up the mantle.”

Beyond the commercial success, David takes particular pride in Silverburn’s community impact. “What makes me most proud is opening the shopping centre in October 2007 and looking around this place now as one of the UK’s top large retail destinations. But I’m also proud of the jobs we’ve brought to the area, and the positive impact we’ve had within our community – about 3,500 staff are employed at Silverburn. I’ve always taken the social responsibility side of that very seriously – the jobs, the development of the team, and our interaction with Pollok, and Glasgow Children’s Hospital.”

That commitment to community delivered tangible results in 2025. Thanks to the generosity of guests, Silverburn raised £111,300 for Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity – the highest total ever and a new fundraising record for the centre. Behind the scenes, 520 volunteers donated 2,903 hours of their time throughout the year, from the seasonal Flamingo Beach summer activation to festive activities in December.

Looking ahead, Diarmuid’s vision builds on Silverburn’s momentum. “Silverburn’s growth over the past two years has been phenomenal. I want to continue to elevate every guest experience and maintain that growth path. The strategy is clear: to make Silverburn the leading retail and leisure destination in Scotland, and we want to be the destination of choice for all.”

That means continuing to think about every touchpoint, every interaction, every moment a guest has with Silverburn. It means supporting retailers so they can trade successfully. And it means staying deeply connected to the community and understanding what matters to the families who choose to spend their time at the destination.

David’s advice for anyone stepping into a general manager role is straightforward: “Be fair, be rounded, be consistent, but be authentic. Be yourself. I think that’s the most important thing. You can learn the technical aspects, you can understand the operations, but if you’re not authentic in how you lead and how you build relationships, none of it works.”

The role now requires comfort operating across multiple disciplines – retailer relationships, marketing, operations, community engagement, team leadership – to name a few. Understanding the full customer journey is critical. It’s not enough to think about what happens when someone walks through the door. Centre managers need to understand how guests discover the destination on social media, what influences their decision to visit, how easy it is to get there and park, what they experience once they arrive, and how to keep them engaged afterwards.

Just as importantly, commercial awareness of the challenges retailers face has become essential. As a general manager, understanding those pressures and genuinely helping solve problems, not just collecting rent, separates good from great.

For Diarmuid, the challenge ahead is clear: maintaining Silverburn’s destination of choice position as consumer expectations keep evolving. Families have more options than ever for how they spend their free time, but the opportunity is huge. By continuing to focus on exceptional guest experience, supporting retailers properly, and staying connected to the community, Silverburn can keep building on the incredible foundation David has created over the past two decades.