In some ways I probably have a fairly standard career journey but there have been a few unusual aspects to it!  I trained as a Chartered Accountant with EY and stayed with them for nearly 10 years including being on partner track (before removing myself!). I then worked for Abu Dhabi headquartered TAQA for over 13 years, first in global roles and then European roles and then global roles again including Group Deputy CFO.  

And the last 4 years I have been the CFO at Ithaca Energy plc, listing the company on the London Stock Exchange in 2022 and helping grow the business to its entry into the FTSE 100 as of September.  However the unusual sidebars to that journey include for the majority of my career working 3-4 days a week, remaining Aberdeen based other than a 6 month EY secondment to Calgary, leading a $5bn decommissioning program for TAQA as Decommissioning Director and leading Ithaca as CEO for 10 months during a transition period. 

So it’s not been dull!

In my current role as a listed upstream company CFO there really is no area of the business that I don’t have the right to roam…..and need to roam!  So everything is my business and I am not only looking at the finances.  This makes the role massively varied and really interesting so there are no two days the same.  

The oil and gas industry is endlessly fascinating as it involves everything from complex geology and production systems to national energy security policies and very large capital commitment decisions with the associated finance raising.  All achieved by incredibly skilled people who we need to keep safe and all for the benefit of wider humanity as accessible energy pulls increasing numbers of people out of poverty globally.  

I had some notion of being a lawyer when I was at school…….but I didn’t switch on to studying and taking education seriously until university so I didn’t get the grades to even consider law.  

When I had to take a business law course at university I was so glad it had worked out that way as I found it incredibly dull!  

It is very hard to know exactly how AI will change accountancy but it has to be the biggest change catalyst we are facing.  My experience of company finances was obtained through painstakingly long periods of auditing companies, checking balances and driving into details.  

AI is bound to increasingly take over all of that kind of work.  So how will humans really learn and get the experience to make the experienced judgement calls that are required? Or will AI make all of those calls as well………..I suppose that is the big question for many professions!

No not really, certainly as it related to work patterns as I worked in a fully remote global role at TAQA when I first joined them in 2009 and have worked flexibly and in part time roles throughout my career.  So working in different locations and in different patterns has always been part of my life.  I have also employed staff on all manner of flexible contracts as I put far more value on the people than the routine.  With the right people who have proven they are capable and will deliver, then work patterns should be and can be flexible without impacting performance.  

That being said I think there is something core to our social interactions that you cannot replace by being entirely online and I think Covid taught us that.

Ask yourself what the move will add to your skill set and experience and whether the culture of the company you are going to work for will fit with you better than where you currently are.  I have seen lots of people move roles just for money and they have ended up being a real disappointment.  

I have only moved companies twice in my career, which maybe isn’t something a recruitment firm wants to hear…….but, I believe in being patient as long as the place you are working is a good fit culturally and you are getting opportunities to learn more.  If that is the case then my advice would be not to jump too quickly.

If you show up consistently as committed and capable then someone at some time will give you opportunities. 

When they do, never let them down. 

I have taken great joy in seeing Ithaca grow from the listing process as a plc through to the FTSE 100 where we find ourselves today.  But there is more to come.  We have ambitious and supportive shareholders and we have many opportunities ahead of us.  

My journey with the company will end at some point. When it does, I want to leave behind a strong team and a strong culture that will carry on performing when I am gone.

So this is where your personality type comes to the fore as I don’t really take time out to relax!  Most weeks are fairly full on every day as outside of work I have a large and busy family life, with a wife and six children, as well as a very busy church life.  

I am a bible teacher at the church where I am involved in its leadership but also travel to teach in different churches in the UK and sometimes abroad.  Essentially, I see all my roles as me being involved in helping and leading people in different spheres and it’s a privilege to do so.  I occasionally play golf as I was brought up pretty much on a golf course but it is either with family (my son), with fellow Christians (as a great opportunity to talk to them) or as business meetings for the company. 

Holidays with the family are the exceptions when I tend to properly relax.  But even then I do tend to like having something to think through or plan.  It’s just the way I was created really! 

I apparently keep my coastal roots quite well hidden! 

Just the other day one of the Ithaca folks asked me if I was from Portknockie as he had heard a rumour!  I was born in Buckie and spent all my childhood on the Moray coast, but because my parents weren’t from there I never picked up the accent so it stays fairly unknown!  

I love that part of the world and I can understand everything the locals say in doric…….but I just don’t speak like they do!