Sir Ian Wood has been chosen as the north-east’s top role model for entrepreneurs.
In a survey conducted by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) for North East Business Week (NEBW), the billionaire founder of Wood Group came top of the list when respondents were asked to name a local entrepreneur.
Other names mentioned regularly by those surveyed included Brewdog’s James Watt, former Wood Group chief executive Bob Keiller, hotel and care home entrepreneur Charles Skene and James Milne, chief executive and founder of the Balmoral Group.
The report, which took the sixth annual NEBW theme of “entrepreneurship driving growth”, said the list should be used to encourage others in the region to start their own businesses.
James Bream, research and policy director for AGCC, said: “Respondents were asked to name a local entrepreneur and a diverse list of individuals and sectors was created. This clearly suggests we have a range of case studies to use to change attitudes and raise the confidence of individuals.
“We must celebrate these regional entrepreneurs. This could be a first step towards raising public awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship as well as helping build the confidence and inspiration for future generations.”
The survey quizzed 184 respondents from the region on a range of issues around people who set up businesses.
It found that 40% of business owners quizzed said they have had to reduce their prices as a result of the fall in oil price, with 35% having lost contracts.
There were 19% who reported they have made redundancies as a result of the oil price crash, although 58% of respondents in the energy sector did.
But 60% of all respondents agreed that now was a good time to start a business. Meanwhile, 77% of business owners would encourage others to start up on their own.
The survey also asked respondents to identify top traits of entrepreneurs. These came in as “opportunity”, “vision”, “determination”, “confidence” and “leadership”.
The report said: “One element that seems to define them is the strong desire to take advantage of an opportunity, and to have the vision and determination to see this through. In addition, entrepreneurs were also seen as being leaders, having confidence and passion.”
But starting out a new venture was also deemed risky.
The survey, which also included a number of company employees, found that business owners were significantly more likely to describe themselves as risk-takers (28%).
This compared to the 15% of non-business owners surveyed who described themselves as keen on wining or losing it all.
