Bob Keiller, chief executive of Aberdeen-based international energy service company Production Services Network (PSN), has been named as Ernst and Young Scotland Entrepreneur of the Year 2008.
Mr Keiller, who led a £140million management buyout of the firm in 2006 and has since seen it grow rapidly, fought off competition from 29 of the country’s finest entrepreneurs to pick up the top award at the Scottish final in Glasgow last night.
He also won the title of Energy Services Entrepreneur of the Year.
His previous awards include Grampian Industrialist of the Year 2008, KPMG Businessman of the Year 2007 and Entrepreneurial Exchange Entrepreneur of the Year 2006.
Former winners of the E & Y title include Alan Savage, of Orion Group; Alasdair Locke, of Abbot Group; Stewart Milne, of Stewart Milne Group; Sir Bill Gammell, of Cairn Energy; and Robert Wiseman, of Robert Wiseman Dairies.
PSN is now one of the 10 largest private Scottish companies, with turnover last year of £600million. More than 2,500 new jobs have been created since the MBO and PSN now employs more than 8,500 in 20 countries across five continents.
Among the 10 other category winners revealed last night, was Geoff Ball, of housebuilder Cala Group – which has an extensive presence in the north-east – who was named Master Entrepreneur.
Andrew Spragg, of Oban firm Aquapharm Bio-Discovery, was chosen as Healthcare Entrepreneur, and Catriona McPhee-Smith, of Aberdeen-based Inspire – a charity supporting people with learning difficulties – was acclaimed as Social Entrepreneur.
A special award went to Geoffrey Thomson of Perth-based Braveheart Investment Group, a technology commercialisation and investment company.
The awards were decided by an independent panel of leading entre-preneurs and business figures, chaired by Chris Gorman.
Professional services firm Ernst and Young is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Entrepreneur of the Year in the UK. It presents the annual awards to leaders of fast-growth firms in a programme run across 44 countries.