Next generation of business leaders graduate to fly the Saltire

Fourteen of Scotland’s most ambitious aspiring business leaders graduated from the first ever Saltire Fellowship Programme on 05 December 2009. 

Hailed as Scotland’s next generation of business leaders, the businessmen and women have completed an intensive year-long international programme, devised to give them the skills and entrepreneurial drive to transform Scottish companies into global businesses of scale.

Each fellow attended a 16 week placement at Babson College in Boston, the world’s top ranked business school for entrepreneurship, before undertaking placements within both large blue-chip organisations overseas and small high-growth entrepreneurial ventures in Scotland.

Some of the overseas companies which hosted placements for fellows included Sun Microsystems in California, Monsanto in St Louis, Liberty Mutual in Boston and Shawcor in Houston.

Scottish companies participating in hosting the fellows following their time with the overseas blue-chips included Touch Bionics, Axis Shield, Vamosa, Redeem and Ice Factor.

The group graduated as Saltire Fellows during a ceremony at Airth Castle attended by Saltire Foundation chairman, Peter Lederer and Scottish Enterprise chairman, Crawford Gillies.

With many of the fellows having left successful jobs to take part in the inaugural Saltire Fellowship programme, ten have already secured positions with some of Scotland’s most ambitious growing companies.

The Saltire Fellowship was developed by the SaltireFoundation, which was set up with support from Scottish Enterprise and the influential GlobalScot network. It aims to identify individuals who can make a difference to Scotland’s economic future and provide them with invaluable opportunities to work with some of the world’s key business players.

Many of the companies that host the Fellowship Programme are associated with the GlobalScot network and play an invaluable role in promoting and helping to expand Scotland’s business success by passing on its members’ skills and expertise to Scotland’s next generation of business leaders.

Irene Johnstone, director of International Networks at Scottish Enterprise said: “We are delighted to see the first fourteen fellows graduate from the programme.  Each fellow has undergone a unique experience where they have had the opportunity to learn not only the theory but benefit from first class experiential learning in some of the world’s most ambitious and successful blue-chip companies.

Fellow, James Murray, 30, who was a project manager at Mott MacDonald, before taking part in the programme, spent three months working with Veolia Energy North America in Boston before returning to Scotland to apply his knowledge to Edinburgh company NGenTec who have developed novel generator technology for green energy.

James said: “The whole Fellowship experience has been incredible.  The experience and knowledge gained from attending one of the world’s leading business schools and from working in an internationally recognised blue chip company really is second to none. 

“This really gave me the confidence to make an impact with NGenTec, a very early stage company, helping them to become investor ready for their first round of investment. I am delighted that post Fellowship I will continue to work with NGenTec and help them achieve economic success for Scotland."