‘The Woman we Should all Have Heard More About’
‘The Woman we Should all Have Heard More About’.
You’ve been in this situation many times. An influential leader in business or politics or academia sits across from you in their elegant – but minimalist – office in a chrome and glass four-storey edifice in Glasgow or Edinburgh and begins to tell you about their humble upbringing in an edgy, working class neighbourhood.
Today, Dr Marie Macklin is telling me about her upbringing on Kilmarnock’s Onthank housing scheme. And yes, her business headquarters are indeed somewhat deluxe and the soft furnishings are tidy and tickety-boo. Here’s the thing though: you can see the very same Onthank estate out of her office window and the knobbly sweep of Killie beyond.
Dr Macklin has become one of Scotland’s most important business leaders (and has a wee CBE bearing witness to the fact). And yet, there’s a lingering sense that we should all have heard more about her. She should certainly have a permanent place on the Scottish Government’s prestigious Advisory Council for Economic Transformation. Perhaps they consider Dr Macklin to be a little too independently-minded.
Yes, she led the campaign to transform the sprawling former Johnnie Walker site in Kilmarnock into this grand Halo building, from where her remarkably successful urban regeneration and urban renewal projects have been launched. And yes, she persuaded the American astronaut Dr Kathleen Rubins to take a piece of specially-designed Halo tartan on a jaunt to the International Space Station. And certainly, she’s in constant demand to join boards, pick up awards and lecture international delegates about what can be achieved in breathing life into places that governments consider beyond repair.
Dr Macklin, you see, is a former member of the Conservatives and (worse in this SNP’s eyes) an admirer and former business confidante of Alex Salmond who persuaded her of what independence could achieve for Scotland. Nor has she been slow to offer business advice to the Scottish and UK governments over their joint failure to secure a future for the Grangemouth refinery.
“If I was sitting in front of John Swinney or Keir Starmer, I’d be reiterating to them what’s at stake here. You’ve got energy to think about; you’ve got jobs to think about and you’ve got the future of our young people to think about. Let’s first secure the position by purchasing the site for a pound.
“Sir Keir has promised to put up £200m, well let’s use that as a starter for 10, because he put up £600m for an Ineos factory in Belgium. Let’s get business leaders in from across the region and include the unions and some of the workforce, and then discuss how we use that money now to retain the jobs. And then set about producing a package that’s attractive to other investors and push forward a properly just transition.
“I’d be in favour of retaining it in state ownership for five years with the proviso that you can come out of this and aim at a public/private partnership so that the taxpayers get their money back. That’s the only way it works. “I don’t believe everything should be in public ownership. I believe in rescuing a situation to get it to a strong position that delivers value for money and the heart of the community is protected. There are loads of ways to cut a deal, but you need deal-makers to make it happen.”
I tell her that we’re talking about a government which gave away a massive chunk of our coastline to the richest oil firms in the world for £700m, a fraction of their annual profits. This mob couldn’t sell water in the Sahara. She maintains a diplomatic silence.
Dr Macklin’s been in a similar situation before. In 2009, she produced and developed her ‘Halo’ masterplan for Diageo’s old Johnnie Walker site which she secured for a nominal £1. This was a long and sinewy two-steps-forward-one-step-back process of engaging with East Ayrshire Council and the Scottish and UK governments which lasted until 2022 when phase one of the site regeneration was realised. It’s currently on track to deliver a GDP of more than £200m with the promise of 1500 jobs.
Phase Two, involving an affordable housing development, is happening outside her window as we talk. It builds on her success with her KLIN property business of identifying brownfield sites and decaying listed buildings in disadvantaged communities across Scotland and transforming them into affordable housing and commercial hubs.
My eyes usually mist over when I hear the phrase ‘just transition’. There’s rarely any justice in it for working class communities. She sympathises with my cynicism. “However, I think I can speak from a position of strength on this one,” she says. “I’m sitting on probably the most sustainable project in Scotland. “This building is powered by 175 solar panels. We have a windfarm which is being monitored by Strathclyde University. We’re six years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement, based on the statistics from promoting the technology here.
“But there must be a common sense aspect too. You cannot shut gas and oil fields when the economy is tanking. You cannot shut the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields and call it Just Transition. The Greens think this is the way to go, but this is a party who’ve constantly failed and cost us millions with their schemes while they were in government, such as the chaotic Deposit Return scheme.
“I don’t have any personal gripes against the individuals concerned but it was good when the SNP finally ditched them as it freed the government up to talk about the bread and butter core policies and issues that matter to economically challenged areas as well as the business community. My dad always told me to stick to what you know. And to me, the Greens know nothing about how to run an economy.”
We discuss the perception in working class communities that the political classes in Scotland have cut them loose and no longer even attempt to engage with them and their everyday concerns. Dr Macklin is on solid ground here too. She was building a successful career advising blue-chip clients in London and New York for one of the UK’s biggest banks before she was struck down by endometriosis, compelling her to return to her home town and a career epiphany. She’s also overcome dyslexia.
She took over her dad’s building firm KILN and began her mission to revitalise neglected, working class communities with a targeted investment strategy combined with a robust and charismatic approach to securing government and state funding. She’s at pains to point out though, that such public funding which helped secure the Johnnie Walker site – though welcome – was not exactly transformational. “Our governing classes are too keen to become involved in issues across the globe that have absolutely nothing to do with them,” she says. “I’m from a working-class background and aspired to better and nicer things and putting wealth back into the system so that others can have them too.
“In Scotland though, there are too many textbook revolutionaries who want you to believe they’re one of the people, yet refuse to give the people any power. They’re actually taking the power away through the people, and that’s unacceptable.”
If you’ve not been to Kilmarnock recently, you might not have seen the Halo building with its signature, circular steel installation atop, signifying not something spiritual or ethereal but simply that good things are happening down underneath. On one level it’s a thrumming hub of creativity supporting start-up businesses with affordable rents and access to expertise and counselling. Larger, quoted enterprises have begun to set up shop here too. Lit up in the early evening, it has a sleek, black aesthetic which would rest easily in the business sectors of London, Tokyo and New York. It’s important to Dr Macklin though, that such a grand building is part of Kilmarnock’s couthier skyline.
“Successful companies know when they walk in here that this is a serious place with a design spec that matches anything they’ll find in the world’s big business centres. But it also tells the community here that they can be part of something big too.“We lost 700 jobs when Diageo moved to Edinburgh and the heart of the town centre was taken away. I want this place to be a community asset, a vehicle for attracting good jobs that pay properly back to my home town.”
Article by Kevin McKenna, The Herald. All pictures by Photographer, Gordon Terris.
On International Women's Day, we Need to Think About Disenchanted Young Men.
On International Women's Day, we Need to Think About Disenchanted Young Men.
Today (Saturday 8th March 2025) marks International Women’s Day, which has become a permanent fixture in the calendar, in this country and around the world; an occasion on which to both celebrate female achievement and to promote the virtues of shattering glass ceilings wherever they are perceived to still exist.
As someone who has forged a successful career in business, I know how tough it can be to make it as a woman. In my own case, that was compounded by the serious health problems I encountered when my debilitating struggle with endometriosis forced me to give up my job in the City of London and return north, taking my career on a different but ultimately rewarding trajectory.
It is an experience which has profoundly shaped me in my personal and professional life and left me with a burning determination to do more to help the countless women afflicted by such conditions, which not only impact physical and mental health but are a huge economic issue.
So, given my own background, and as another International Women’s Day is upon us, I feel more than qualified to opine on not only what it takes to succeed as a woman but also where our attentions should now be focused. However, as I write this to the background strains of Simple Minds, “Don’t You Forget About Me” –one of so many hits which resonated deeply with me as a working-class youngster and formed my own personal soundtrack growing up amid the social and economic turmoil of the 1970s and 80s – I’m prompted to consider just who it is that we are at risk of forgetting.
Because here’s the rub: a whole generation and more later, while so many of our younger people face many of the same challenges, it is perhaps not the fortunes of young women we should be fixated on today. It’s overwhelmingly those of boys and young men.
On just about any metric you care to measure, it is the young males of the Western world who are underperforming, who are worse off emotionally and in too many cases whose needs are being ignored, leading to a toxic cycle of disenchantment and despair.
Let’s address the evidence before us. Which gender leaves education with significantly worse outcomes and prospects? Which does worse when it comes to behavioural issues in childhood, in many cases ultimately spiralling into lifestyles best by serious crime? And which, when it comes to mental wellbeing, fares by far the worst when it comes to the toll of lives lost to suicide?
The answer in every case is of course males. Take the statistics on younger people not in education, employment or training. Already an endemic problem in many UK communities, it has only become worse since the pandemic, but the gender disparity is stark, with a 40 per cent post-Covid rise among males, compared to just seven per cent among females. Meanwhile, boys are twice as likely as girls to face expulsion from school.
The list of statistics goes on and on. And it is a universal phenomenon, by no means confined to the UK and our nearest neighbours. A report from the World Bank in 2022 found that in every region of the world, and in almost every country, boys were faring worse than girls educationally, with all the knock-on effects that has for societies.
In circumstances where those numbers were reversed, with girls and young women beset by a tidal wave of imbalance in their prospects and life chances, an emergency would undoubtedly be declared, task forces convened and the whole might of governments and their associated agencies brought to bear to fix it.
As it is, the travails of boys and young men elicit, at most, a sad but resigned shrug. But the imbalance is now so stark, prolonged and ingrained that it merits the full attention of government.
The reality is that it is not just the current generation of young males who are being failed, and in too many cases abandoned. We are now deep into a multigenerational cycle which has seen too many boys and men left behind.
The Centre for Social Justice recently launched a research project, badged “Lost Boys”, aimed at understanding what lies at the root of male disenchantment. The Lost Boys syndrome was already evident by the late 1970s as males in communities like the one I grew up in saw their chances of employment, opportunity and simple dignity stripped away.
Of course, women have historically been discriminated against and denied opportunity. That has, rightly, been addressed over many decades. And while no one should let down their guard, it is hard to argue that in this country and most Western nations there is not now full equality of opportunity, not only in law, but in practice.
But the consequences of deep-seated male disenchantment are everywhere, socially, economically and politically. Donald Trump sought, with evident success, to tap into that well of masculine despondency when he targeted young men in the recent US election.
Closer to home, our own politicians of all parties would do well to pay attention to that dynamic. That is because fixing the issue will not just bring about renewed hope for those boys and young men who have been left behind – it will also deliver much wider gains in terms of the economy, health, crime rates and family cohesion. When we have a society where young men are active, productive, employed and happy, everyone will benefit, male and female.
So, this International Women’s Day, my plea is to look on it not as a chance to fight old battles but to look forward with hope in the knowledge that true equality means bringing opportunity to everyone.
Let’s not forget the Lost Boys.
Bringing power to the nation. HALO and XLCC plan to bring 300 new jobs to Kilmarnock
Bringing power to the nation. HALO and XLCC plan to bring 300 new jobs to Kilmarnock.
The HALO Kilmarnock and XLCC have entered into an exclusivity agreement that is expected to see the Sales and Project Delivery Headquarters of subsea cabling manufacturing company XLCC being established at the award-winning The HALO Enterprise and Innovation Centre Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.
The agreement enables the businesses to work together, ensuring that Scotland is at the forefront of creating new employment opportunities and growing the supply chain for the renewable energy sector. This partnership could result in more than 300 high-quality jobs being brought to the town.
XLCC will build the UK’s first high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable factory in Hunterston, Ayrshire, creating 1200 jobs (including 300 in Kilmarnock) in a key hub for the country’s Net Zero industry. The company has already established its Training Academy in Irvine, working with Ayrshire College to develop the apprentices whose skills will play a critical role in building the infrastructure at the heart of the energy transition.
At The HALO Kilmarnock, the partners are also exploring the creation of a Green Economy Sustainability Centre which will include a Green Accelerator and an Education Hub for SME businesses and entrepreneurs.
The HALO regeneration project is set within the former Johnnie Walker 28 acre bottling plant and is at the forefront of creating an innovative and sustainable economy. By providing a sustainable community approach, deploying low carbon, digital and clean energy technology, this mixed- use development is now creating jobs, economic growth and skills development powered by clean energy in the heart of Kilmarnock.
The HALO has attracted attention from not just UK-based organisations but an international audience which is keen to understand how what has been achieved in Kilmarnock can be replicated globally.
Dr Marie Macklin CBE, founder and executive chair of The HALO Kilmarnock, said:
“XLCC and HALO Kilmarnock have a successful track record of working together since 2023 when XLCC chose HALO as the base for its apprentices before moving to its Training Factory in Irvine in 2024, for which I performed the official opening.
“This initiative puts us at the forefront of driving new, just transition opportunities for the former industrial heartlands of Ayrshire. I look forward to working with XLCC and our key stakeholders, including private sector partners, Scottish Enterprise, East Ayrshire Council the UK and Scottish Governments, to deliver for all in our communities at pace.”
XLCC CEO, Ian Douglas said:
“XLCC is delighted to be teaming up with HALO to establish its Sales and Project Delivery Headquarters at the HALO Enterprise and Innovation Centre in Kilmarnock. XLCC wants to create 300 highly skilled roles at this site bringing the total number of jobs in Ayrshire to 1200. We look forward to working closely with HALO Kilmarnock and the local community in the coming months and years as we build a business critical to delivering the energy transition.”
Marie Returns to Scotland Tonight on STV
Marie Returns to Scotland Tonight on STV
This week Marie joined Rona Dougall on STV’s Scotland Tonight earlier this week, (Wednesday 29th January 2025) to discuss Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s major speech on the need for the UK to prioritise economic growth.
Marie, who was joined in the studio by the Fraser of Allander Institute’s Dr Joao Sousa, took the opportunity to point out the Chancellor’s failure to mention substantial investment in Scotland as part of the UK Government’s initiative.
Marie stressed the need to support major infrastructure projects in Scotland, including the urgent requirement for concerted cross-party efforts to prevent the closure of the Grangemouth refinery.
USA Presidential Inauguration Coverage as the People Welcome a New Administration.
USA Presidential Inauguration Coverage as the People Welcome a New Administration.
This week Marie was invited to share her thoughts on the incoming US government administration and what the changes in Washington might mean for Scotland’s international trade. Marie appeared on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show and spoke to STV news and Clyde Radio West.
Marie made clear that, as she had previously outlined following last November’s election, it is in our national interest to engage positively and pragmatically with the new Trump administration. Doing so is the best way to promote jobs, growth and opportunity – and to capitalise on the historic and enduring ties of family and friendship between the United States and Scotland.
On inauguration day, (Monday 20th January 2025) Marie said, “Donald J Trump will become the 47th President of the United States of America today, we look forward to working together in the months and years ahead to build on our existing friendship – enabling our people, communities and economies to thrive.”
In November 2024, Marie’s opinion piece on Trump was published in the Times. You can read the article here: https://www.mariemacklin.co.uk/engage-with-trump-2-0-and-scotland-can-reap-the-benefits/
Marie's Opinion Piece in the Scotsman on the 'Just Transition.'
Marie's Opinion Piece in the Scotsman on the 'Just Transition.'
Scotland and the UK have a great story to tell when it comes to playing our part in the global push towards a Net Zero future. We have an abundance of renewable energy sources, giving us a natural advantage in seizing a lead over international competitors.
But what we lack, so far, is the widespread industrial and manufacturing capacity to make the most of that in-built advantage. That means that, not only are the communities which should be benefiting failing to do so, but also that the overall costs to business of making the transition remain too high.
Scotland has tried to position itself in the vanguard of the green agenda, underlined by the Scottish Government’s commitment to reaching Net Zero by 2045. But we need to ask the question, laudable though that goal may be, how realistic is it and what are the costs in the short term?
That is why I believe common sense should prevail, and a longer timeframe set instead. Pushing that target date back to 2050 to match the UK Government’s goal would not only accord with the reality of where progress stands but also potentially help the public finances in tough times. The rush to meet Net Zero targets inevitably puts a squeeze on the government’s resources, and allowing an extra five years to meet the commitment could allow the Scottish Government some much-needed room to manoeuvre fiscally.
It would also give time for the necessary consideration of how we can best bring the maximum benefits of the green agenda to our communities. That includes those who currently depend on our oil and gas sector, as well as those who previously prospered through heavy industry but who in recent decades have been left behind. As others have stressed, we cannot simply turn off the taps when it comes to our own domestic oil and gas production. If a just transition is to mean anything, it must involve keeping people in valuable employment until other, equally well-paid, greener jobs come on stream.
The rush to meet Net Zero by placing increasing demands on businesses is also having consequences far beyond our shores. For example, the GFANZ initiative which emerged at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, was designed to deliver the kind of collaborative approach needed, by creating an international alliance of major financial institutions committed to Net Zero.
I warned in a speech I delivered last November that GFANZ was not delivering the kind of transformative change envisaged when it was set up in 2021. And those fears have only been compounded as the start of this year has seen more companies quit the alliance as a result of the ever more onerous burdens placed upon them.
That is depressing and not the kind of legacy that was envisaged for Glasgow, Scotland or the UK when we had our moment to effect lasting change. It is clear that delivering on Net Zero must mean providing the right incentives as well as penalties, otherwise we will struggle to see the scale of investment needed.
That requires concerted action from governments and businesses. And in my own work as an entrepreneur and investor, I feel privileged to be involved with companies like XLCC and Peel Ports, who are at the forefront of work to make the just transition a reality here in Scotland, driving opportunity for the country’s supply chain and creating employment and training. It involves bottom-up growth driven from former industrial heartlands, something we quickly need to see more of.
We also need to prevent the new Green Boom from being confined only to certain regions, or history will repeat itself. The 1970s saw Aberdeen and its surroundings thriving economically, while communities like my own in Ayrshire were left behind.
However, until we have the manufacturing capacity to deliver the jobs that will make the transition a reality, we need to rely on expertise and investment from overseas. That includes China, which is a key investor in the green sector.
Engagement with China needs to be sensible, hard-headed and measured – that means being prepared to do business but also being alert to the legitimate security concerns which are raised about Chinese companies’ involvement in key infrastructure projects.
One of the biggest frustrations of the climate emergency, and arguably one of the biggest barriers to properly addressing it, is the way in which too often it is seen as a wedge issue between environmentalism on the one hand and the interests of business on the other.
As someone who is passionately committed to an agenda of economic growth, opportunity and job creation, but who also sees the necessity of the green agenda, I believe that is a profoundly misguided way of looking at the issue.
Because it is only when we start to see the green and the pro-economy agenda as two halves of the same coin that we can and will finally start to make real progress Put simply, there is no economic gain to be had if the climate crisis starts to overwhelm us. And on the flipside, there are huge economic opportunities awaiting those who choose to invest in the green agenda.
The smartest business chiefs around the world already understand this and are starting to take the necessary steps to ensure that the interests of climate and enterprise align. For my own part, as someone committed to offering hope and opportunity, especially to communities who for too long have been marginalised or forgotten, I know that the green agenda is a business opportunity, not a threat. That is especially the case here in Scotland and the UK, where have the resources and potential to power and sustain a green industrial revolution. With the right leadership at both political and corporate level – and crucially, with realistic targets and timescales in place – we can start delivering on an agenda which brings hope, opportunity and prosperity for all.
Article Link | https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/why-scottish- business-needs-a-more-realistic-net-zero-target-4955056
Marie Joins the Panel at the E-FWD, Technology and Innovation in Energy Event.
E-FWD, Technology and Innovation in Energy Event in Glasgow.
Invited by Owen Watt, Chief Growth Officer at DC Thomson, Marie joined the panel alongside representation from academia and the business community at the E-FWD Technology and Innovation in Energy, Business Breakfast in Glasgow on Friday 17th January. The events, keynote speaker, Anas Sarwar, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party shared his insights on the future industries, including GB Energy, offshore wind, grid investments, CCS, and more.
The packed event explored how technology and innovation can drive Scotland’s growing influence in the energy transition and how the city can become a key player in shaping the future of energy. Marie shared her hopes for Scotland in driving forward a realistic sustainable, just transition agenda for the country and added that, “COP26 was great, but if we don’t watch, those dreams will turn to dust,” highlighting the need for action and funded policy measures that support robust innovation within the sector.
Find out more about E-FWD’s ‘Energy Tech & Innovation Hub’: https://efwd.energyvoice.com/
Marie Reflects on 2024 and Shares Optimism for 2025
Marie Reflects on 2024 and Shares Optimism for 2025
As 2024 draws to a close, it’s worth reflecting on the last 12 months but also looking ahead with hope, determination and optimism to what the new year can bring. Earlier this year, I indicated I was embarking on what I described as a new direction and new mission for the future. It’s a path which involves stepping back from the endeavour I have devoted so much time to in recent years, the HALO business hub in my hometown of Kilmarnock. But it is a path which will still see me as committed as ever to my passion for regeneration and for bringing hope to communities.
I will continue to be involved with HALO, driving the brand forward across the UK and internationally. In Kilmarnock HALO is currently engaged with companies like XLCC and Peel Ports on things like cooperation on activities involving apprentices. Both those firms are at the forefront of the drive to Net Zero, which is a mission I am proud to support.
I will also continue to invest in newcos and scale-up companies. However, more of my time will be spent on other projects which are close to my heart. One of those is the issue of women’s health, and specifically my work to champion research and investment to combat the scourge of endometriosis, a condition that blights the lives of too many women.
It is an illness which, as I outlined from my own experiences in an article in the Observer in August, can have a devastating effect not just on women’s health but also on their careers and professional lives. That means tackling endometriosis and related gynaecological conditions should be an urgent priority for governments, as much for economic reasons as health ones.
October saw the launch of ENDO1000, #TALKEndo, a groundbreaking new research project being taken forward by a fantastic team at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Reproductive Health, which aims to improve diagnosis of endometriosis and bring forward more personalised treatment for women affected.
I’m proud to be a Founding Ambassador for ENDO1000, #TALKEndo women’s health campaign, and it was a privilege to speak at the project’s launch. I look forward to continuing to support the university’s work and to championing women’s health more widely throughout 2025.
This year has also seen me continue my work to support neighbourhoods in my native Ayrshire, communities which remain very close to my heart. That included convening a Faith Leaders’ Summit as well as continuing to support Onthank Primary School, and Kilmarnock Academy on enterprise, sustainability and entrepreneurship activity within the curriculum.
Meanwhile, I have enjoyed sharing some of the lessons my career in business has taught me by hosting a recent masterclass in entrepreneurship at Glasgow Caledonian University, where I am honoured to hold the position of Entrepreneur in Residence.
I’m also pleased to have joined the Board of the Scottish North American Business Council and look forward to helping the organisation continue its important work of growing business and trade links between our country and the United States and Canada.
As part of that transatlantic exchange, which can be beneficial to both sides, I plan to visit the US early in 2025 to take forward my own engagements. As I outlined in a recent article in The Times, it is important that we work as positively as possible with the incoming US administration, and I was pleased to see that First Minister John Swinney recently had a productive introductory conversation with President Elect Donald J Trump.
The political climate remains febrile both at home and internationally. Here in Scotland, as I made clear when I joined a recent panel discussion on STV, it is important that the Scottish Government’s Budget is passed when the key vote arrives early in the new year.
That will mean compromise and a grown-up approach from both the Government and opposition parties. More generally, I am cheered by what appears to be a fresh, practical and can-do approach to business from the Scottish Government, which seeks to maximise gains from our nation’s huge potential in areas like renewable energy.
Cross-party engagement is important to me, and as well as a recent conversation with the First Minister I will also look to have ongoing dialogue with the main opposition parties.
Overall, it’s important that our political leaders understand that the regeneration I am passionate about must be driven by bottom-up growth if it is to drive truly transformational change for our former industrial heartlands.
In summary, 2024 has been a year of transition for me. I look forward to 2025 being a year in which I drive forward the projects I am passionate about – community regeneration, education, women’s health and sustainability – all underpinned by the core concept of regeneration.
Best wishes.
Marie
Marie Responds to the Scottish Government's Budget 2025 | 2026
Marie Responds to the Scottish Government's Budget 2025 | 2026
Scotland’s Draft Budget for 2025/26, which was published yesterday, signals a welcome change in tone from the Scottish Government.
It heralds a reset in both messaging and action coming from the Swinney and Forbes administration, which sets a foundation of growth built around infrastructure investment, centred on housing and renewables.
The Budget includes proposals for £768 million of investment in affordable housing, and around £7 billion in overall infrastructure investment, including £150 million for offshore wind, with a stated mission of driving forward a green industrial revolution.
For Scotland to protect our communities and drive jobs in the construction sector, we need more of this type of policy.
Bottom-up growth, in our forgotten former industrial heartlands, will kick-start a long overdue economic recovery and I welcome the £62 million in funding pledged for town centre regeneration.
The Budget proposals are a start, but we now need to see quick delivery and more proactive solutions to support SMEs and our young people in schools, with Enterprise and Entrepreneurship courses being added to the curriculum.
Finance Secretary Shona Robison began her Budget statement at Holyrood by saying it was about “bringing hope to people”.
That is a sentiment I wholeheartedly endorse. Giving hope to individuals and communities that their lives can be made better should always be a central purpose of our Government and our national Parliament.
Today we have more hope than yesterday, but it is now time for grown up politics in the interests of our country.
That means compromises will inevitably be needed for the Budget to be passed early next year.
All sides should now engage constructively in that process with the intention of seeing it passed – because the public and businesses would not look kindly on politicians or parties who sought to play political games which risk instability and uncertainty.
Marie Delivers, ‘Entrepreneur in Residence Masterclass’ at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Marie Delivers, ‘Entrepreneur in Residence Masterclass’ at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Set within the recently opened, ‘Entrepreneurial Hub’ in the George Moore building, the Entrepreneur in Residence Masterclass provided the opportunity for Marie to share her business journey with an intentional focus on ‘Regeneration’. Highlighting how watching her hometown de-industrialise in addition to her financial service experience in both London and the U.S.A inspire where she is today.
Marie discussed some of the setbacks and challenges that she’s contended with throughout her business career but claimed, “It’s all part of the process – it’s how you deal with these situations that really counts.”
In addition to the masterclass, Marie had the opportunity to speak with three entrepreneurs from the university, Susan Anderson of Small Change, Money Matters, Umran Ali Javaid, of Fun for Life Fest and Engineer a Career founder, Josh Robertson – hearing more about their products, challenges and aspirations for the future.
The audience, a mixture of students, alumni and staff asked a wide range of questions at the end of the session including…
Where has the inspiration that keeps you going come from…?
“We’ve just got to keep going, keep going. It’s people and communities that drive me, it’s all about hope and making things happen. I honestly think that it was my near-death experience that pushed me forward and made me who I am today.”
How would you advise us to find the correct mentors to support our business journey…?
“They are around you, your peers – the people who are also on a business journey that could be experiencing similar problems and challenges who can share their hints, tips and experiences. Surround yourself with a good support mechanism – don’t be afraid to ask for help as the entrepreneurial world can be a lonely one at times. Also, think about the type of support, counsel and advice you need based on where you are on your business cycle and seek the gaps in knowledge to power you forward.”
Reflecting on the event Marie said, “Today provided me with hope and admiration with the entrepreneurial ideas and mindsets within the university, and how these great minds will shape our country and economy in the future. I was inspired by the three students I had the privilege of spending some 1:1 time with, discussing their businesses in more depth. Scotland, the U.K, and indeed the world, need to listen, support and encourage entrepreneurs – helping them to make positive, sustainable and economic contributions to our societies. I look forward to hearing about the progress they all make in the months ahead.”
Marie is a former student of Glasgow Caledonian University and in 2018 was bestowed an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in recognition for outstanding contribution to the business world and for the common good of students at GCU.