Our series in the business section is a round up of everything you need to know about the latest appointments in the north-east of Scotland.

Aberdeen’s ETZ appoints NSTA and Shell bosses to board

ETZ Ltd has added a further two Aberdeen energy veterans to its board, ahead of what it says will be a “crucial period of delivery”.

North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) chief executive Stuart Payne and Shell’s Aberdeen-based head of corporate relations Padraig McCloskey have formally joined the board.

The appointments come as the group prepares to make “a number of positive announcements” on private sector investment in its proposed Energy Transition Zone (ETZ) in the south of the Granite City over the coming weeks.

Mr Payne replaced his predecessor, Andy Samuel, as chief exec of the NSTA in January.

Mr McCloskey meanwhile leads Shell’s corporate relations team in Scotland and has responsibility for the supermajor’s government and stakeholder communications.

His company has also been closely involved with the development of the zone, announcing plans last year to work alongside its ScotWind partner ScottishPower to help drive skills and employment opportunities in floating wind.

Welcoming the appointments ETZ Ltd chairman Sir Ian Wood said: “The north-east of Scotland is undergoing an exciting and remarkable transformation as it repositions itself as a globally recognised energy cluster focussed on the delivery of net zero.

“ETZ Ltd and the Energy Transition Zone are at the very heart of this transformation and we are very fortunate to draw upon a board with a wealth of experience across various sectors within the wider energy industry as we seek to accelerate our activities.

“Both Stuart and Padraig are excellent additions to the board who will offer invaluable insight as we shape our future delivery and I thoroughly look forward to working with them.”

New head of marketing for ICR Integrity

Maintenance, inspection and integrity firm ICR Integrity (ICR) has announced Gemma Neal as its head of marketing and communications.

In her role, she will implement a comprehensive group-wide global strategy to support ICR globally while also driving its initiatives in the energy transition.

With more than 18 years of strategic marketing and communications experience, Ms Neal was latterly head of marketing at Vysus Group where she led the global rebranding from Lloyd’s Register Energy and worked across the business to support international business streams.

Unique Group looks to growth

Offshore services provider Unique Group has announced the appointments of Chris Blake and Craig Walker to drive forward the organisation’s ambitious growth plans for 2023.

Mr Blake joins as vice president – survey, utilising his 30 years of experience in the offshore industry throughout Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas with organisations such as Fugro and N-Sea.

While Mr Walker takes up the position as global asset manager as the group continues to invest in digitalisation.

With 17 years of project management, leadership, and global resource management experience, he joins from Claxton Engineering.

Scarf confirms new chairwoman

Aberdeen-based energy efficiency charity Scarf has confirmed Susan Mackie as its new chairwoman.

With offices in Aberdeen and Dundee the organisation supports businesses and individuals across the north-east by reducing fuel poverty, promoting energy efficiency and lowering carbon emissions.

A board member for the past three years and vice-chairwoman since November 2021, Ms Mackie will be supported by joint chief executives, David Mackay and Lawrence Johnston, as well as outgoing chair Ed Rennie – who retains a place on the Scarf board.

Scarf said she brings a wealth of experience in data privacy and business systems management having held roles across the UK and Europe for local authorities, health and social care partnerships, and oil and gas companies over the past three decades.

Speaking about her appointment Ms Mackie said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to add value to an organisation that makes such an impact on communities right across the north-east and look forward to continuing to play a vital role in Scarf’s journey to help positively influence people’s lives through our range of targeted services and energy efficiency advice.”

New faces join AFBE-UK

Diversity and inclusion organisation AFBE-UK has appointed two new co-chairs.

Roy Bitrus joins AFBE-UK Scotland’s co-chairman alongside Ollie Folayan while Awai Collins-Harrison becomes AFBE-UK England’s co-chair alongside national chairwoman Nike Folayan.

The not-for-profit organisation promotes higher achievements in education and engineering, particularly among people from black and minority ethnicity (BME) backgrounds.

Mr Bitrus is an entrepreneur and director of sales at Aberdeen-based geophysical start-up TenzorGEO.

He has been involved with AFBE-UK for nine years, and currently coordinates the AFBE leadership programme.

Ms Collins-Harrison is a senior systems engineer at multinational rail infrastructure company Siemens Mobility and has worked with AFBE-UK since 2020.

Mr Folayan, who was awarded an MBE in the recent New Year Honours, said: “Appointing Roy and Awai is a huge milestone in the AFBE-UK journey. Roy already plays a key role in our operations being in charge of our leadership programme so he was the perfect fit to come on board as co-chair in Scotland.”

New NEDs for Macphie

North-east food ingredient manufacturer Macphie has added Norman Soutar and Jane Stewart to its team as non-executive directors.

With more than 29 years’ experience in the food sector, Mr Soutar’s latest venture saw him managing the William Jackson Food Group as chief executive where he helped family-favourite brand Aunt Bessie’s build its brand reputation for helping make complicated recipes and techniques more user-friendly.

Ms Stewart has more than 25 years’ experience in industry, private equity investment and corporate finance and brings extensive experience of helping innovative businesses to grow.

She holds a number of non-executive positions in high-growth companies, including Edinburgh-based waste tech firm, Topolytics, and Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. She was recently recognised by Innovate UK as one of the UK’s leading ‘Women in Innovation’.

Family-owned Macphie makes products used by bakers, pubs, restaurants, hotels, ready-made food firms and caterers around the world. It employs more than 250 people.

The firm was founded in Glasgow as a wholesale business by Alister Macphie, the current chairman’s great-uncle, in the 1920s and has grown into an ingredients supplier worth more than £60 million.

Chairman Alastair Macphie said: “Both Jane and Norman bring a suite of extensive business acumen and useful insights to their new roles at Macphie.

“Their invaluable experience and passion for the business will be a great benefit towards driving improved performance and growth across the board.”

Promotion at Paradigm Drilling Services

Paradigm Drilling Services has promoted Jim Profit to chief operating officer to
support a global uptake of its drilling technologies.

Chief executive Julian Manning said: “We are very fortunate to have Jim part of the team, he consistently demonstrates drive and passion for scaling up our business on a global level.

“I am confident that the combination of Jim’s technical skills, business acumen and interpersonal skills will allow our technologies to have a far-reaching impact on the
global drilling tool market.”