In the days after the great unveiling of the £524million city deal, the new boss of the region’s business chamber started at the job.
Russell Borthwick, who once worked for the Press and Journal in his salad days, returned to work in his home town last week in what Chinese sages might have called “interesting times”.
“People said to me that I’ve picked a strange time to go back to Aberdeen,” says Mr Borthwick at the busy offices of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC).
“I told them no, actually I’ve picked a great time to come back because right now the chamber is in a strong position to help play a key role in what happens next.”
One of his first tasks this week was attending one of the chamber’s so-called “Vanguard” dinners, where a small but high-powered group of folk convenes to discuss the issues of the day. Sir Ian Wood was on the menu to speak about next steps around the announcement of the Aberdeen City and Region deal.
AGCC is already a member of the board on Opportunity North East (One), the body led by Sir Ian and which has effectively superseded Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Forum with £25million of the tycoon’s own cash plus another £25million from Scottish Government.
“One of the reasons I came back was to get involved in that stuff,” he says.
Having spent a few decades living and working in the UK’s other North East around Newcastle, he understand the impact of regeneration on areas hit by long-term industrial decline. As a result, he is sanguine about criticism that the funding package unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Nicola fell rather short of the much-touted target of £3billion.
“I’m not sure the £2.9billion figure was a target – I thought it was a menu,” he says.
“If it was everything we dreamt of in the world it would add to that.
“But actually the realistic view was it was going to be piecemeal, it was going to come in stages.
“We needed to prove we could make the projects that have been signed off work.
“This is funding that has to be supported by the private sector and has to deliver some KPIs and results for the region
“If we can do that, we’ve got a pretty strong business case to come back for more.”
Often described as a life-long “super-fan” of Aberdeen Football Club, Mr Borthwick has developed the skill of looking on the bright side.
“Aberdeen is still one of the best places in the UK,” he says of the city.”
“There is a trait of people here to look at the half empty glass rather than the half full, but there are still lots of reasons to be cheerful.
“A lot of city regions around the UK would give their eye teeth for our economy now, never mind what it looked like 18 months ago.”
But he still sees room for improvement.
“My over-riding view reading the P&J and looking back in from the North East of England is there has been a huge amount of inertia which has been borne of complacency,” he says.
“Things are happening elsewhere across the country because they had to happen. They haven’t happened here because everything was fine, thanks.
“Now maybe the smelling salts have been waved under collective noses.
“Now is a real opportunity to say yes we have had a shock, but actually there is still plenty to work with.
“We need to reinvent the future of the area before it is taken out of our hands.
“I’ve seen pit villages and communities in the North East of England where I have been for the last 20-off years. They have nothing. They didn’t have a plan B
“This is on a much grander scale, but Aberdeen needs to avoid becoming the next run down pit village.”
Q&A
Who helped you get where you are today?
Too many people to mention, but the ones that really matter know who they are.
What do you still hope to achieve in business?
I have been fortunate to enjoy a great career in and around the media but one of the attractions of this role is the opportunity to make a real and meaningful difference to this community, however small. It’d mean a lot to me if I could retire, look back with pride and think “I helped to make that happen”.
If you were in government, what would you change?
The adversarial and often outdated modus operandi of the current system. If our politicians really represent the senior management team of UK plc, they should act like it- in the best interests of the nation and for all our sakes.
What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on TV?
I’m reading Business for Punks by the CEO of Brew Dog James Watt- a great local success story, challenging business norms. TV is pretty much only for sport/news and an occasional laugh with classic comedy on Dave!
If you were a character in history or fiction who would you like to be?
So many to choose from but I’m going to plump for Brunel. His innovative thinking, problem solving, ground breaking designs and ingenious constructions changed the face of the nation and helped to power the seismic shift in our economy that was the industrial revolution.
What kind of car do you drive and what do you dream of driving?
I drive a BMW M5. (Frustrated sports car driver requiring the ‘sensibleness’ of 5 seats and a large boot!) After attending the Geneva Motor Show last year, I’d have to plump for the Lamborghini Aventador. The guy on the stand came up with a great line: “All you need to know sir is that the parts you’d want to be German are German; and the parts you’d want to be Italian…Italian”!!
What would your partner/children say about you?
They’d probably say “who?” or “Oh him, where is he?”.
What charity(ies) do you support and why?
When in the North East of England, I was active in support of the Percy Hedley Foundation which meets the needs of disabled people with cerebral palsy, communication impairments, sensory impairments and complex learning, social care and therapeutic needs.
As is true for too many, our family has been touched by cancer. We support various related charities and my son Adam volunteers at our local Marie Curie shop.
And, of course, we do what we can to help the many third sector organisations that are Chamber members.