SBAAT 2011 Awards Shortlists

Young Achiever

Michael Welch - Blackcircles.com

At the age of 23 Mike Welch founded the leading UK tyre retailer, Blackcircles.com.

As Managing Director, Mike has already transformed the UK motor industry from the company’s headquarters in the Scottish Borders town of Peebles. Its partnership with local garages has helped independents to once again compete with the big high street brands and coupled with other strategic ventures has helped Blackcircles.com to become a leading tyre retailer. Through Mike’s emphasis on leading price points and value, Blackcircles.com posted turnover of over £18 million in 2010 and has amassed 600,000 customers.

In December 2010 Mike’s desire to change the motor industry in the UK resulted in him launching the biggest motoring venture in the UK of the last ten years, Tesco-tyres.com.

Dougal Sharp - Innis & Gunn

Dougal Sharp Managing Director of Innis & Gunn was born in Aberdeen. The family moved to Edinburgh when Sharp was 14 after his father, Russell, got a job running down an old brewery that was due to close – this is the brewery he would later buy and call Caledonian Brewery.   He spent the next seven years working there, taking responsibility for overall beer production. One of his tasks, in 2001, was to brew a beer for William Grant to season its barrels for an ale-finished whisky.  Rather than throw away the beer, the Chief Executive of William Grant proposed setting up a joint venture to sell the beer, which they later decided to call Innis & Gunn (the middle name of Dougal and his brother).  In 2007, William Grant decided to sell their stake in the business, which was bought by Sharp in 2008.

Robert Morrison - Tyko Trading

Rob Morrison, 31, is a serial entrepreneur.

He founded Tyko Trading, owner of the breo brand of watches, in 2008.  The product launched initially in to independent stores and the travel retail sector.  Following significant success with airlines (securing a listing on 49 airlines) breo launched in to the ferry market with the likes of DFDS Seaways, Condor, Stena Line, Brittany Ferries and Nordic Ferries.  More recently they have launched a range in to House of Fraser, John Lewis, and Fenwick.  The company has experienced a staggering increase in turnover, with a 5,672% increase in 2010 compared to 2009.

International Award

Colin Robertson - Alexander Dennis

Colin Robertson is the Chief Executive Officer of Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL), Britain’s biggest bus and coach manufacturer.

ADL has enjoyed explosive growth since Colin took over the helm in May 2007 increasing turnover by almost 120% to circa £370m. In the same period ADL has seen its share of the UK bus market rise from 30% to its current level of over 45%. Simultaneously, ADL has opened up a series of new markets in the USA, Canada, mainland Europe and Australasia, also establishing build partnerships in California, Hong Kong, China and New Zealand as part of its growth strategy.

Colin, aged 46, started his career with Cummins Engine Company, before moving to JI Case and then to Terex Corporation where he rose rapidly through the ranks to become Executive Vice President of Global Operations, before becoming CEO of ADL.

Roy Davis - Optos

Roy joined Optos as Chief Executive Officer in November 2008 with over 25 years of operational line management and strategic consulting experience. Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer of Gyrus Group plc, a quoted leading medical device company, from June 2007, before it was acquired by the Olympus Corporation of Japan in February 2008. Before becoming CEO, Roy served as Chief Operating Officer of the company from 2003. He then joined Gyrus as a Non Executive Director at the time of its flotation in 1997. He was previously CEO of NTERA, a Nanotechnology company and before that spent almost 10 years with Arthur D. Little, the global management consulting company, where he was Vice President and Global Head of its Operations Management business.  Roy has also held senior operational positions for Tricom, Reuters and Molex in the US, Taiwan and Europe.  Roy holds a mechanical engineering degree and obtained an MBA from the London School of Business.

James Milne - The Balmoral Group

James Milne CBE is Chairman and Managing Director of the Balmoral Group. Born and educated in Aberdeen, the company which was established in 1980 remains based there. Today Balmoral has a turnover in excess of £60.5m and over 360 employees. With an engineering background James is committed to using technology to underpin the growth of the company with substantial investment in R&D resulting in innovations which are now used around the world. The company is deeply committed to the development of its staff and its various divisions operate from its corporate headquarters at Balmoral Park.

James’ voluntary involvements include close associations with local hospitals and charities.

Main Achievement Award

Allister Langlands - John Wood Group PLC

Allister graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MA

Economics (Hons) and went on to train as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells (then Coopers & Lybrand, Deloitte and now PricewaterhouseCoopers), where he was latterly a partner in Aberdeen. 

Allister joined John Wood Group PLC in 1991, serving as Group Finance Director until 1999 and Deputy Chief Executive from 1999 - 2006, before being appointed as Chief Executive in January 2007.

During his time at Wood Group, Allister has been a key member of the senior management team which has led Wood Group’s growth from less than US$200 million revenue in 1990 (85% North Sea based) to over US$ 5 billion revenue in 2010 (80% overseas).  Milestones have included:  London IPO in 2002, announcement of PSN acquisition in 2010 for US $955 million, re-entry to FTSE 100 in March 2011 and announcement of the sale of Well Support division to GE in February 2011 for US $2.8 billion.

Keith Cochrane - The Weir Group PLC

Keith Cochrane (46) became Group Chief Executive of The Weir Group PLC on 2 November 2009, having joined Weir as group finance director in July 2006. Prior to joining Weir, he was group director of finance of ScottishPower plc. He joined the power utility in 2003 as director of group financial reporting.   

Before that he was with Stagecoach Group plc where he was group finance director from 1996, becoming group chief executive in 2000.   He joined the transport operator in 1993 from Arthur Andersen, having worked on the Stagecoach flotation in the same year.

Educated in Dunblane, Perthshire, Keith studied accountancy at Glasgow University and qualified as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen. In September 2008, he became a non-executive director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Society Ltd where he acts as treasurer. 

Bob Keiller - Production Services Network (PSN)

Bob is from the Borders and has been in the oil and gas industry for nearly 25 years. He is CEO of PSN – a company he created by completing a $280m management buyout from Halliburton in 2006. PSN had a business plan to reach $75m annual EBITDA by 2014 but has achieved over $100m in 2010 with operations in over 20 countries and a team of nearly 9,000 people.

 Bob has a Master of Engineering degree from Heriot-Watt University and is a chartered engineer. He has been Chairman of the Offshore Contracting Association (OCA) and the cross-industry trade body Oil and Gas UK. He also sat on “Pilot” – the industry-government steering group. He was a member of the UK cross-industry Step Change in Safety Leadership Team and he led the UK Helicopter Task Group formed in 2009 to accelerate safety improvements in air safety. He is currently Chairman of the Entrepreneurial Exchange. He is a former Chairman of the Aberdeen & District Round Table.

In 2009 he was recognised for his outstanding contribution to the oil & gas industry at the Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards and in 2010 was the first individual to receive global recognition in safety leadership in the shape of the International Regulators Forum’s “Carolita Kallaur Award” for his outstanding leadership of the Helicopter Task Group.

Bob recently announced the planned sale of PSN for $955m to allow the merger of PSN with Wood Group’s Production Facilities business. Bob will be the CEO of the combined business which will include over 23,000 people in over 30 countries.