Bruno Berardelli left Lochaber after school to study politics at the University of Glasgow but returned after graduating when a chance opportunity led to a successful career in the biomass heating industry.
He got a job with a company called Torren Energy and later set up his own company, Highland Wood Energy, whose clients included Prince Charles.
He is now group chief operating officer at Amp Clean Energy and lives in Torlundy, near Fort William, with his wife Ali and children Lila, 16, Rocco, 13 and Victor, 10.
"I came back here not really knowing what I was going to do but I did, always want to live here," said the 46-year-old, who is of Italian descent and grew up on a farm close to his home.
"I like the environment and the people and it's just a really good place to live.
"But I remember thinking I would probably have to make my own job and I suppose that's what I ended up doing.
"It's a lot easier now because of connectivity. We have amazing broadband because they put it in for the Mountain Biking world cup and we took a line off that.
"Covid changed a lot of things. I think there are more opportunities because there are more jobs you can do remotely.
"I know people from Fort William who are working in amazing jobs but doing it from home. Before 2020 that wouldn't have happened - it's been a bit of a game-changer.
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"A lot of folk just want to get out and see something a bit different and you are probably never going to change that.
"For those who want to stay, you need to offer the right apprenticeships and the right college courses.
"I know businesses here who struggle to get apprentices, from the aluminium factory to Marine Harvest.
"A lot of the time I think people don't know what's on their doorstep and just leave but there are really good opportunities.
"It's quite an engineering place and if you were to be strategic about it, you would say, there is loads of engineering and there is loads of tourism so we need to gear up the college.
"The better the amenities the more that people will stay. We have a cinema now and things like that are nice and will encourage people to stay.
"I think Fort William is a different place than it was in the 1990s. Then it was just somewhere you wanted to get out of.
"I think the world has also changed. You had the big cities and then everything was on the periphery. But now, with connectivity, everything feels connected so it doesn't really matter where you are.
"The challenge for the Highlands is that it's dark and cold and wet in the winter and that can be a bit depressing. In the cities, there are lights and people.
"Some people move here and they do two winters and they have to get out and some people who are brought up here can't stand it."
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