A keen cyclist, he is a trustee of Cycling UK.[3] He is the director of Venture Extreme Consultancy Limited,[4] whose website describes him as "a leading authority on the development of extreme sport and adventure destinations." It also notes that MacNae was "the National Officer and Deputy Chief Executive of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). He progressed to become Chief Executive of Mountain Services (UK mountaineering’s commercial arm) and the Mountain Heritage Trust."[5]
He and his wife Vanessa live in the borough of Rossendale. They have had two children together – a son, and a daughter who died soon after birth.[3]