FIRSTGROUP has seen massive expansion in 20 years.
Moir Lockhead, who has led the company to become a world leader, was knighted last December by the Prince of Wales.
At the end of 2007, FirstGroup was elevated to membership of the blue-chip FTSE 100 index; the first Aberdeen company to join the ranks of the biggest listed businesses in Britain.
FirstGroup operates around 80,000 buses and employs 136,000-plus staff in the UK and North America.
The company acquired US firm Laidlaw and its iconic Greyhound coaches for £1.9billion in 2007.
FirstGroup now carries about 2.5billion people a year on its buses and trains.
Sir Moir was brought up in the mining village of West Cornforth, near Sedgefield, County Durham.
When he left school at 15 to become an apprentice mechanic, he could not have imagined where he would end up. Sir Moir’s career path eventually took him to Grampian Transport in 1985 as general manager.
In 1989 came the £5.5million employee-management buyout of the business, which at the time had a fleet of 200 buses, 500 staff and an annual turnover of less than £15million.
That was the forerunner of FirstGroup.
Sir Moir and his wife, Audrey, sons Gary, Stuart and Sean and daughter Claire have always felt at home in Scotland. He and his wife live on their farm at Glassel, between Banchory and Torphins.
Lady Lockhead and Claire run the 450-acre farm.