RISING STARS: The profiles

May 6 2009 Business Insider

Within five years Scott Allison intends to be the UK's top telecoms provider to SMEs. It's a big ambition and bumps in the road like the credit crunch aren't going to get in the way

Scott Allison (32), Managing director, Abica

Within five years Allison intends to be the UK's top telecoms provider to SMEs. It's a big ambition and bumps in the road like the credit crunch aren't going to get in the way. Allison aims for 50 per cent growth in the coming year and has Rod Matthews, founder of Scottish Telecom, on board to help make it happen. Having started his original business, Freedom Phones, while a student at the University of Strathclyde he clearly has determination. He now employs 12 and has a rapidly rising s1.1m turnover. Outside work Allison has a passion for travel - the further the better.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "The development of affordable and plentiful zero carbon energy generation and transport would change the planet for the better and let people keep on travelling which is essential to world trade and understanding of different cultures."

Ian Nicol (38), Managing director, Active Business

Spotting a market is one thing - exploiting it is a different matter. As an apprentice air conditioning engineer Nicol recognised that sustainable energy systems were the future for everything from refrigeration to pumps.

In 10 years he has turned his two-person enterprise into one with 106 employees and s10m sales. Nicol's next step will be to establish Active as Scotland's market leader - offering solutions that lower utility bills and carbon footprints in homes and businesses. What is particularly appealing is that he practices what he preaches. Nicol's soon-to-be-completed Aberdeen HQ will rank as one of the UK's most energy-efficient buildings.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Grasping the effective use of renewable energy and using it success.fully. "

Johanna Dow (34), Finance director, Business Stream

Dow chose to pursue her ambition to be an accountant on the job rather than by going to university and was fully qualified by the time she was 21. She left private practice to join Scottish and Southern Energy as a business analyst before going on to join ScottishWater as group finance manager. Dow played a key role in the setting up of Business Stream in readiness for the opening up of the retail non-domestic water industry to competition and was later promoted to finance director. The mother of one-year-old twins would ultimately like to run her own business but with another 30 years of working ahead admits"a lot can happen in that time!".

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Hopefully technology which dresses you in the morning, dries your hair, applies your makeup and gets you ready to face the day!"

Alan Elliott (24), Owner, Dalbeattie Fine Foods

Elliott is Scotland's best haggis-maker and top young butcher - not bad for a Northern Irish lad. He has won a heap of titles since he arrived in the country and opened his own quality butchery the day after he was 19. He left school before he was 16 with nothing but the desire to learn a trade, and be the best. Now he has a thriving shop and online business. Elliott understands how to fulfil the 21st century consumer's desire for traditional fare.

There seems every chance he will achieve his goal of becoming the UK's top online butcher.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "A move back to traditional food production and purchasing as consumers realise that UK food, particularly meat, is the best, with the highest animal welfare standards."

Dawn Borland (42) and Lyndsey Philips (48), Partners, The Deli on the Corner

The deli duo received a major boost last autumn when they won the s50,000 top prize as the British Chambers of Commerce's most promising new business for 2008. The idea for the Stewarton-based delicatessen emerged over a cup of coffee between the two friends and nearly three years on they have ambitions to develop a chain.

Mother-of-two Borland had worked in the licensed trade most of her working career while Philips has a background in marketing and management in the food and drink production industry. Their mentor is Jim Jardine of Business Gateway Kilmarnock, whose strongest quality is his ability to listen, while their ideal board members would have been Audrey Hepburn, to bring glamour and sophistication, and the late Anita Roddick, who Philips greatly admired for her business acumen.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years?

Philips: "Space travel or a way to teach that greed doesn't pay."

Borland: "A slower pace of life."

Stuart Mitchell (36), Engineering director, Flexlife

Mitchell is a founding director of fledgling Aberdeen-based oil and gas-related engineering consultancy Flexlife. As well as his duties as the firm's engineering director he has also been its operations director .

"This, I suppose, is a necessity of working within a small dynamic company,"he says."Like any small company it needs close financial control during the early days." One of his biggest challenges - and also one for a young company - has been breaking through the age barrier."If you are good enough, you are old enough,"he argues."The oil industry can, at times, be a bit of an old boys'club."

What do you think/hope will be greatest innovation of next 25 years? "A cure for cancer. This touches everybody and with the proper level of investment should be achievable."

Margery McBain (47), Managing director, Gravitate HR

After an impressive career in human resources working for blue chips like John Lewis, Dixons and Jenners - where she was head of HR - McBain started her own oursourcing business three years ago. Former Jenners boss Robbie Douglas Miller encouraged her to explore the idea of providing outsourced HR and she hasn't looked back. The clients who have been with her since the early days have inspired her to grow and develop and meet their changing needs.

What do you think/hope will be greatest innovation of next 25 years? "We need to develop communications channels and transport in a way that does not have a negative impact on the environment."

Andrew Ley (33), Partner, HBJ Gateley Wareing

Becoming a partner before his 30th birthday marked Ley, a corporate lawyer who joined the firm as a trainee in 1998, as one to watch for the future. As well as working on deals with a particular interest in energy, technology, media and telecoms, Ley has been heavily involved in the recent expansion of the firm into the Middle East and regularly works from the Dubai office. It's a busy job with Ley saying he sometimes puts in up to 80 hours a week, making his gym membership"tantamount to a monthly charitable contribution to Duncan Bannatyne!"

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Given population growth, technology at the consumer level to convert waste into fuel and energy, thereby rolling up two serious issues into one solution."

Jon Meeten (40), Tax partner, KPMG

The corporate tax specialist began his career with KPMG on his native Merseyside before moving to Deloitte with spells in Scotland, Birmingham and Cambridge. He returned to KPMG north of the border in 2004 and was made partner within three years. Meeten says that, at the time, he thought getting through the partner process had been his biggest challenge but now realises it was just to"toughen you up for the real challenges ahead" Meeten names his biggest professional inspiration as the firm's senior partner in Scotland, Craig Anderson, but also draws on Steven Gerrard's performance in the 2005 Champions League Final. He cites the best business advice he has been given as:"Don't get too high on the highs or too low on the lows".

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Something to replace timesheets... !"

Vivien Johnston (31), Director, Fifi Bijoux

A silversmith fromThe Glasgow School of Art, Johnston's company combines beautiful jewellery design with ethics. A former head of design for a commercial jewellery business she set up on her own in 2006. Annie Lennox and Colin Firth's wife, Livia, have been among her customers. Despite an initial fear of public speaking Johnston has travelled the world from Brazil to Mongolia to address international mining events. Her aim is to develop further brands and build a foundation to fund fair trade mining. After experiences as diverse as being taught to samba by Brazilian gem miners and meeting traumatised former child soldiers she hopes the next 25 years will bring dramatic change.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "That fair trade will become the basic international business model."

Mamta Singhal (28,) Managing director, Level16

Passion, talent, intelligence and drive - Singhal is bursting with all of them. As a development engineer she saw 100 of her products go to market in 3 years, including Lord of the Rings Monopoly. Singhal set up Level 16, a Glasgow-based product design engineering company, and teaches management, marketing and product design at university.

The skills she honed with Dyson, Hasbro and Polaroid are all being put to use in projects like the development of a new healthy snack. She is also being considered as a TV presenter. Her intense activity is underpinned by clear vision - the multiple award- winning Singhal champions the need for business to pursue long-term sustainable development.

What do you think/hope will be greatest innovation of next 25 years? "A safe method of producing pollution-free power would be a fantastic leap forward. Plus wireless electricity would be cool."

Catherine Walker (47), Managing director, Little Bird Brands

The fledgling company suffered major production delays, but sheer determination plus the support of supermarket clients, saw them pull through.

Walker's 'Magic Fruit Potion' drinks - which are free from artificial additives - have now been on the shelves for over a year. Her ambition is to develop such strong brand recognition that parents feel they can give Little Bird Products to kids without scrutinising the label for nasties.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "A return to our roots with natural products seen as the solution to health problems like obesity."

Caroline Gregory (29), Managing partner, Lovat Arms

Gregory's parents David and Geraldine used to run the celebrated Torridon Hotel inWester Ross and when they retired bought the Lovat Arms by Loch Ness as a"hobby". But Gregory is very much in charge and ambitious to roll out the Lovat brand worldwide. Despite initially planning to avoid working in the hotel industry Gregory did a degree in Law and Business Management at the University of Glasgow then globe-trotted for a year before working in London doing various jobs. She returned to Scotland in 2005 to run the hotel which has been relaunched after major refurbishment. She oversees a team of 25 in the high season and is not afraid to muck in and do the washing up.

What do you think/hope will be greatest innovation of next 25 years? "A corporate cultural revolution."

Gregor Aikman (23), Daniel Kane (23) and Craig Lynn (23), Directors, Meso

The talented trio launched their design consultancy and product development company only a month after graduating fromThe Glasgow School of Art with s200,000 worth of funding from mentors Stephen Mitchell, Jonathan Kennett and Sheila Hamilton, who are owners of parent company the TH Group. "We are in a privileged position - although we have been thrown in at the deep end, in the back of your mind you know there is a lifeguard on duty," says Kane. Aikman, Kane and Lynn had impressed Mitchell and his fellow directors with their work for TH Group where they had internships and decided to invest in them.

They were involved in a project which is now used success.fully to reduce failures in the production of the Playstation3 and many other electronic products. They are continuing to do work for TH but plan to launch their first independent commercial product - designed by Aikman - later this year.

What do you think/hope will be greatest innovation of next 25 years?

Aikman: "I believe a commerciallyviable zero-emission motorised vehicle is not too far away."

Kane: "The biggest innovation would have to be a clean, safe way of producing power economically."

Lynn: "Open source, clean energy."

Rachel Osbourne (34), Managing director, Mutley & Mog

After nine years on the corporate treadmill with Proctor & Gamble - commuting to London from Glasgow each week - Osbourne opted for a better work-life balance and set up her own venture. Her experience as UK sales manager for P&G's pet food division was the catalyst for Mutley and Mog, an online business supplying pet food and accessories. Osbourne - who recently became a mum for the first time - cites the best business advice she has received as"don't try to do everything yourself and work within your means". Her ideal boardroom colleagues would be the founders of Google"so I could properly understand the intricacies of search engine optimisation.".

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "The technology is already fairly advanced to produce robotic housemaids - I could definitely do with one at the moment!"

David Ferguson (39) and Philip Martin (41), CEO and business development manager, Nucleus Financial

After graduating from Heriot-Watt University, Ferguson and Martin joined Life Association of Scotland, the life insurer taken over by Britannia Life, as trainee actuaries. Having then been employed at two start-ups - Ivory & Sime Trustlink and Scottish Life International - the two colleagues decided in 1999, the time was right to hit the financial marketplace with their own ideas. A strategic marketing consultancy -The Abacus - saw them cutting their entrepreneurial teeth before Nucleus was born seven years later.

The business has been developed to take on the life insurance big boys by creating a platform - known as a wrap - for independent financial advisers (IFAs) to service their clients by arranging all their investments under one roof. In return, the IFAs buy a stake in the business. Ferguson's highlight so far - which was more of a relief - was raising the capital to create Nucleus after several years of exploring the opportunity. Just over two years into the company's life, Martin's biggest test is still to challenge the long-held notion that big life companies will always dominate the UK savings landscape.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years?

Ferguson: "I hope it will be something that truly empowers everyone to be what they can be."

Martin: "For our business, as well as for the wider good, that individuals could gain a greater understanding of, as well as interest in, their own financial affairs."

Hamish Menzies (40), Managing director, Rocio

After 12 years as an engineer in the oil and gas industry, Menzies opted for a very different career in fashion brand management. Menzies and Rocio Olbes, a designer he met in the US, set up the company to design and market a range of exclusive wooden handbags. Although small, the Glasgow-based business has established a high profile within the industry with its designs featured on the international catwalks and a clutch of awards under its belt. Along with a number of this year's Rising Stars Menzies named Sir Richard Branson as his ideal board member for his"vision and attitude"and ability to succeed across different sectors.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Mainstream carbon-free fuels and space travel."

Chris Wayne -Wills (34,) General manager, Roxburghe Hotel

A hospitality industry high-flier, the best adviceWayne-Wills ever had is that the greatest achievements come through struggle - appropriate for someone who is also involved in Edinburgh's turbulent project to reintroduce trams. Wayne-Wills has consistently impressed his bosses by increasing trade and winning awards for inspirational leadership. As general manager of one of the capital's leading hotels he knows that standards mean everything. This comes with recognition that investment is essential for long-term success. as hotels must adapt constantly to satisfy an ever-changing market. His heroes include Rocco Forte, who built his own hotel empire - a struggle for whichWayne-Wills is preparing.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "I think and hope it will be environmentally-friendly innovations like hydrogen-powered cars with only water as an emission which could have an amazing impact on global Co2 emission"

Mark Duffy (35), Managing director, Second Places

If virtual worlds are the future then visionaries like Duffy are shaping our tomorrows. He is transforming the technologies used in computer games into flexible, accessible tools for all. Executives who currently waste days travelling to bleak industrial estates for death by PowerPoint will soon meet virtually to explore computer-generated versions of the finished product or building. Projects to date have included the first virtual comedy night - starring Jimmy Carr - and a virtual orchestra performance by the Liverpool Philharmonic. Duffy believes that virtual worlds are on the cusp, like the internet not so many years ago, and will swiftly flood into everyday life.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Plug-in virtual 3D worlds which give the ability to connect to a computer and be completely immersed in a virtual world with all the senses connected to the created environment."

Garreth Wood (30), Director, Signature Pubs Group

Early success. in Aberdeen allowed Wood to make the profits needed to break into the lucrative Edinburgh pubs market. The hours are long and trading conditions are tough, but he and his brother Nic are determined to keep growing their chain. The prospects look good, not least because Wood appreciates the importance of a powerful work ethic - pointing to its role in the success of entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson. He also believes companies are part of communities and actively supports local charities. Wood has always recognised the need for good business advice - Sir Richard has a standing invitation to join the board.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Alternative, cheap energy for everyone - especially the world's poor."

Arti Poddar (25), Managing director/Operations director, Sterling Care Homes/Lambhill Court

After graduating in finance & computer science, Poddar joined the family care home business. She admits proving herself as more than the boss's daughter was a challenge but one she overcame to progress to become operations director of the Glasgow-based business which employs 350. Poddar, who puts in up to 80 hours work a week, has also recently purchased her first independently-owned care home. She names her mother as her biggest inspiration for combining business success. with family life."She has also taughtme how to enjoy the journey as well as the results."

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "New technologies that will see the online/e-commerce sector expand exponentially over the next 25 years."

Darren Hobbs (37) and Nick Webber (32), Founding partners, Splendid

Webber and Hobbs have come a long way from the event staffing business they started after graduating from university in London in 1997. Five years later they relocated to Edinburgh where they set up another branch of the waiting agency but also diversified into running events for the shooting and fishing set, via Splendid Game, as well as setting up a property management arm.

The latter was developed as they realised there was a gap in the market for a property company that welcomed students as tenants, using its student staff base as a springboard. They now have 16 full time staff and over 1000 waiting staff on their books. Webber's ambition is to widen the Splendid brand though he says he will probably have to wait as he is having far too much fun with the ones it already has. For Hobbs, Splendid Property has been the high point of his business career."The service that we deliver is something we are all very proud of,"he says.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of next 25 years?

Webber: "Teleportation. I could get so much more done. Failing that, cheap and clean energy."

Hobbs: "Scramjet technology. Air travel to Australasia and the Americas still takes too long and its exhaustive nature limits too many meetings. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to do a day business trip to Australia and still get back for a late dinner with the family?"

Haj Atwal (36), Managing director, Subway Scotland

The former tele-salesman opened his first Subway store with his brother Narinder in Edinburgh's Hanover Street in 2000 and now owns 21 with a further 24 franchised outlets across the East of Scotland. Atwal first came across the brand on a trip to Dubai and was so impressed that he returned to Scotland determined to get involved.

The passionate Liverpool fan has ambitions to open a further 50 stores and to become a business angel to support new entrepreneurs. Atwal, who says the best business advice he has received is to"go with your gut instinct"would like to see Barack Obama on his board for his"composure, vision, hope, integrity and wise outlook on issues".

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Hybrid electric vehicles."

Wahid Sadiq (43), Owner, Subway

Chemistry graduate Sadiq launched his business career straight after leaving university by building up a small chain of convenience stores. Ten years later Sadiq and his brother Shahid opened the first Subway sandwich outlet in Scotland. Since then the company has opened 90 stores with 21 owned outright and a further 69 franchises across the west of Scotland. Sadiq has clearly followed the best business advice he says he has been given -"start small and finish big and never run out of cash when you are building your empire!"

The keen jazz fan admires the"old school" entrepreneurs such as Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alan Sugar because of their style of doing business. "It has to be fun otherwise you should choose another career,"he says.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "For the world's leaders to provide hope and stability for the millions of people who don't have a normal life."

Annabel Sall (28), Director, ThinkPR

From starting up on her own with one client when she was just 23, Sall's firm now looks after 25 companies that operate globally and employs seven staff. Her campaigns have ranged from the quirky - including launching the Kazakhstan embassy in Aberdeen on the back of the Borat film Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - to the serious side of announcing major acquisitions by clients. Despite her busy days at work Sall manages to pursue her love of competitive horse riding. She represented Scotland in the three day event team when she was younger and last year won a three day event competing at the same event as the Princess Royal's daughter Zara Philips. Her aim is to be competing alongside Phillips in 2010.

What do you think/hope will be greatest innovation of next 25 years? "I would hope there will continue to be advancements in the treatment of cancer after having personal experience of the illness last year."

Scott Simpson (39), Managing director, Voltage

Simpson left his business studies course early to join the family book business before becoming operations director at the now defunct Crown Press Holdings in Glasgow. He admits he learnt much from the collapse of the printing firm four years ago and went on to launch marketing communications firm Voltage. Opening an office in London last year was a major step in Simpson's ambitions to build a UK-wide business. He says the best business advice he ever received was to join the Entrepreneurial Exchange."I have learnt more about business in the Exchange than anywhere else."

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "Clean energies - I'mconvinced that over the next 25 years, some of these innovations will radically change and benefit how modern society operates."

Jennifer Dempsie (27), Associate director, Weber Shandwick

As part of the SNP team which brought the current Holyrood administration to power, Dempsie is a formidable talent. Now atWeber Shandwick, she hopes to play a key role in business development. Dempsie's ultimate goal is to run Scotland's top PR and public affairs consultancy. Inspired by working with Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon she knows how to reach the top. Dempsie's ambition is underlined by her admiring description of Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini as someone who breaks glass ceilings for breakfast. Her personal ethos is always to be one step ahead.

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "The success.ful implementation and commercial development in Scotland of carbon capture technology - a real opportunity for Scotland to excel as a world leader in green technologies."

Ian Crowther (36), General manager, environmental & industrial division, WFS

Cambridge-graduate Crowther heads up the Livingston-based division ofWireless Fibre Systems, a world-leading developer of specialist communications and sensing products used for applications such as monitoring coastal erosion. He began his career in sales and marketing in England before moving to Scotland where he had stints with the likes of Linn Products and Scottish Development International before joining WFS. Crowther names his biggest inspiration as Tsunetomo Yamamoto's The Way of The Samurai, a 16th century book said to shape the Japanese psyche. TheWest Ham fan's ideal boardroom colleague would be Apple's Steve Jobs for his"strategic thinking and his unrelenting focus on innovation."

What do you think/hope will be the greatest innovation of the next 25 years? "The establishment of a robust environmental technologies sector - I hope Scotland invests enough in this to benefit from a fast-growing global market."