BRYAN Buchan is stepping down as chief executive of industry body Scottish Engineering, after a five-year term that has included the Scottish independence referendum, the oil-price collapse and the Brexit vote.
He will be succeeded by Paul Sheerin, who as a former executive of Polaroid Eyewear headed the company’s plant in the Vale of Leven, which closed earlier this year.
Mr Sheerin will leave his current post of managing director of Diamond Power Specialty, based at Vale of Leven Industrial Estate, in late February, Mr Buchan noted.
Mr Buchan, who is 62 and worked previously for multinational companies Johnson & Johnson and Bausch + Lomb, noted this would allow a one-month handover period at Scottish Engineering during March.
Reflecting on his five years at the helm of the industry body, he said: “It has been interesting times. We have had everything from the independence referendum through the collapse in the oil price and now Brexit.”
Scottish Engineering has around 370 members. Its membership base is mainly companies but also includes universities.
Mr Buchan, who became chief executive of Scottish Engineering in October 2012, said: “It has been five very interesting years but I came into the job thinking I would do it for five years. I am sticking to that plan.”
He added: “I think it is good in these kind of roles to step aside after a period of time and let some fresh ideas come in. I am 62 years old so it is not a bad time to be stepping down. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a fabulous job. It is so diverse. You never have two days the same. It has been really rewarding.”
Mr Buchan praised the pragmatic approach taken by engineering companies in the wake of the Brexit vote, highlighting their opposition to leaving the European Union ahead of the referendum in June 2016.
He said: “Out of the companies we surveyed, the vast majority were against leaving the EU. I think they have shown remarkable pragmatism just getting on with things, while all of this is going on.”
Asked what he planned to do after stepping down as chief executive of Scottish Engineering, which has 17 staff including lawyers and health and safety experts, Mr Buchan highlighted his intention to continue lecturing at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
He said: “I will look for something that keeps me from the rocking chair. I do enjoy lecturing at Heriot-Watt, and I would hope to continue that.”
Mr Buchan also noted he had mentored students.
He added: “That is of interest to me. Just something to keep me mentally active.”
Mr Buchan noted Mr Sheerin was a long-serving member of Scottish Engineering's executive committee, adding: “Paul…knows the organisation pretty well.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here