Malcolm Cooper has worked in the heritage field for 25 years. He trained initially as an archaeologist, working on excavations from Orkney to Okehampton and from Sutton Hoo to Shrewsbury. He has worked for Birmingham University, Hereford and Worcester County Council, English Heritage and most recently for Historic Scotland where he is their Chief Inspector.

In his career his work has varied from running archaeological excavations to managing historic properties and from running grant-schemes for cathedrals through to giving advice to owners on the conservation and repair of historic buildings and ancient monuments.

He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Royal Society of Arts, Commerce and Manufactures and is also a member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists and the Chartered Institute of Management.