About a week is all it took to transform Ryan McPherson’s life from a public-sector worker with no oil and gas experience to a high-flying technology analyst.
He joined the Aberdeen-based ITF in 2007 after seven years in a civilian role as a performance analyst at Grampian Police.
Since then, he has achieved promotion, won a top award and gained immeasurable business experience.
The 33-year-old has never looked back.
Within 2
The life-changing career move has its roots in one weekend as he flicked through the business section of a newspaper.
His attention was drawn to an article on how public-sector workers were successfully crossing the divide to work in industry.
The feature struck a chord and he felt so motivated that he decided to phone its author, an Aberdeen-based recruitment consultant.
It was this conversation that turned the direction of Mr McPherson’s life completely around.
He said: “We met up for a coffee a few days later in Aberdeen.
“I had itchy feet and was keen to move into oil and gas but I knew companies wouldn’t look at my CV, because I had no experience.
“Even so, I felt I had built up a skill set I could take into the private sector.”
Within days, he was referred to ITF managing director Neil Poxon, who he subsequently met for interviews.
Mr Poxon was so impressed by Mr McPherson’s enthusiasm and determination that he recruited him as an ITF technology analyst one week later.
“Neil recognised I had the right qualities and was convinced that I was a risk worth taking,” said Mr McPherson, who had worked for Grampian Police since graduating from Robert Gordon University (RGU) in 1999 with a degree in law and management.
His go-for-it attitude was evident as a teenage pupil at Oldmachar Academy. At 17, he won a sport and business scholarship to America.
This meant spending a year in upstate New York, where he coached football and played for the Manlius Pebble Hill school team.
He was also named in a divisional all-state selection.
Mr McPherson said: “I stayed with a fantastic host family who really took care of me.
“The experience really opened my eyes to the world and exposed me to a variety of different cultures.
“It was strange going from a small place like Aberdeen to New York, but the year gave me confidence in myself and forced me to grow up.”
He still keeps in touch with the host family.
One son was an usher at his wedding to Lesley, with whom he has two young daughters: Rhianna, 6, and two-year-old Ava.
Mrs McPherson works as a personal assistant to Aberdeen University vice-principal Peter Morgan.
Working for ITF has been a challenging but rewarding experience for Mr McPherson.
So far, he has managed 15 technology projects and seven calls for proposals for the international organisation, which acts as conduit between technology developers and the oil and gas industry.
Established in 1999, ITF is a not-for-profit business owned by 23 major operator and service companies working together to champion technology innovation.
Its key aims are to identify needs, foster innovation and facilitate development and the introduction of new technologies.
The organisation has already spearheaded the delivery of 151 collaborative and ground-breaking oilfield technology projects to the market.
It has also been responsible for securing direct member funding totalling more than £46million.
ITF has risen so high in industry circles globally it is now regarded by many people as the world’s most influential technology-development programme, with its portfolio consisting of 39 continuing projects.
According to Mr McPherson, one of the technologies being worked on just now – a subsea water-injection treatment system – is a “real game-changer” for the industry.
His role sees him lead the whole ITF process, identifying and co-ordinating key operational aspects for the business.
Winning the rising star award in March have him a major career boost.
Over the past six months, he has worked in a business-development role for ITF, taking him to international locations including Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar and Houston.
He also assists with the ITF’s energy talent development programme, which strives to provide a platform for young people to move into the energy sector by giving them industry-generated projects for use in postgraduate research degrees.
Mr McPherson’s commitment and professional attitude have been recognised outwith ITF.
Oil and Gas UK picked him to join its next-generation task group and he also sits on two of the industry organisation’s decommissioning workgroups as ITF representative.
At weekends, he’s busy studying for a masters degree in oil and gas management at RGU, attending classes one weekend out of four.
He also manages to squeeze in the odd game of football, when he’s not taking or picking up his daughters from ballet classes.
Mr McPherson enjoyed his time working for the police but has no regrets about joining ITF.
He said: “It has been great to work on so many projects which cover a full spectrum of disciplines and have given me a very sound knowledge base.
“I have gone through a steep learning curve since joining, but I realise I am in a privileged position which sees me talking with industry leaders and experts.
“In turn I am able to broker information across the supply chain to the benefit of the industry as a whole.
“I realise I am really lucky to have such a great job which keeps me motivated and challenged.”
Recommended for you
