Weir appoints technology officer

The Herald:

WEIR Group has appointed Geetha Dabir to its group executive in the newly-created position of chief technology officer.
An electrical and software engineer, Ms Dabir joins the Glasgow-based engineering group having held a number of leadership roles with Intel Corporation and Cisco Systems. 
The company said that Ms Dabir’s wealth of experience in both electrical and digital sectors would help support Weir’s technology strategy. She will join the group in March 2017.  
Ms Dabir joined Cisco in 2001 and held a number of senior roles during her thirteen year career with the business, including vice president and general manager of IoT (internet of things) applications. She joined Intel in 2014 as vice president and general Manager of its IoT applications ready platform group. 
The move comes as Weir attempts to recover its profits after suffering in the aftermath of the oil and gas downturn. This week, the company reported pre-tax profits of £170m for 2016, down from £219m the year before. Revenue was £1.86 billion.

DNV Aberdeen appointments

The Herald:

RISK management provider DNV is expanding its consultancy services with new staff in Aberdeen.
The company has appointed Peter Boyle as Aberdeen operations manager and John Morgan as UK business development leader for risk advisory services.
The company said the appointments would help it to address key industry challenges such as enhancing safety, efficiency and performance.
Hari Vamadevan, UK regional manager, DNV GL, oil & gas, said: “Leaner operations following the oil price collapse has resulted in a reticence to invest in the North Sea in the last two years. But confidence is returning and there are opportunities. We have examined our service portfolio and have a number of new ideas to offer a cost conscious market.”
Mr Boyle said: “It has been a challenging period for the industry, which has led us to innovate our core services for the Aberdeen market."
Mr Morgan added: "DNV GL has been working on numerous value-adding services such as risk-based inspection and combined operations planning."

Estate agent gets its wings

The Herald:

A FORMER RAF pilot has been appointed to the new position of associate director of sales at estate agents, DJ Alexander.
Nick Maunder served in the Royal Air Force for 17 years, latterly training novice pilots to fly Tornados, based at RAF Lossiemouth. After leaving service he launched a children’s nursery business, based in Elgin and focussed on providing individual services for clients.
He then moved to a senior position with Aberdeen-based Petrotechnics, which provides software support to oil companies and others working in potentially-hazardous locations.
Until his latest appointment, Mr Maunder was chief operating officer at Edinburgh-based KAL, a software company.
He said: “We have some great ideas for new ways to sell property and I have joined a team well known for its excellent customer service.  I really can’t wait to get stuck in.”