PERFORMANCE-improvement business Exceed is among a growing number of companies with global operations who have found it an advantage to have their headquarters in Aberdeen.
Exceed was set up by Ian Mills in the Granite City in 2005 to help extraction industries such as oil and gas and mining.
Mr Mills started out on his own but now has 14 employees worldwide – six of them in the north-east.
The director was full of praise for Aberdeen as a location for headquarters.
He said: “In terms of Aberdeen itself as a location, it is easy to get around, travel links are excellent compared with many overseas locations and it is great for families, with good schools, houses and opportunities to get out and about.’’
Mr Mills said Exceed had also benefited from having Scottish Enterprise support in Aberdeen.
He added: “They are very sensitive to the needs of the business and regularly provide objective strategic guidance and support, integrated with their mature insight to what is going on in industry.”
There are negatives involved in growing an international business in Aberdeen, such as the challenges of managing a worldwide team, but the director said: “The world is so well connected electronically these days with WebEx and Skype being fantastic enabling technologies so this is not really an issue any more.”
Mr Mills, who has nearly 25 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, including senior drilling roles at Shell and BP, said his performance coaches operate in Africa, Europe, North America and South America.
Clients include BP, Chevron, Talisman, BG and De Beers.
Exceed said its detailed project planning and approach of placing a coach in-house, on location has earned it a reputation for delivering major cost benefits and operational efficiency.
Mr Mills said of the performance-improvement business’s expansion: “Recruiting a larger team in Aberdeen with a broader base of experience is bringing in new ideas, fresh thinking and different ways of working.”