Oil tycoon and philanthropist Sir Ian Wood will join the ranks of a handful of great Scots when he accepts a top honour at a dinner in New York next month.
The Wood Group chairman will follow in the footsteps of Sir Sean Connery, Lord George Robertson, Lord Smith of Kelvin and members of the Forbes family when he receives the Wallace Award from the American-Scottish Foundation.
The Aberdeen-based billionaire will collect the honour at a gala dinner in the University Club in Manhattan on November 9. Organisers say it is in recognition of a lifetime of global philanthropy and outstanding contributions to Scottish-American relations.
Sir Ian has been the patron of the Archie Foundation since 2000, and it will be the sole beneficiary of the dinner, which is expected to raise in the region of £100,000.
Yesterday he said he felt “very honoured” to be counted alongside the previous recipients.
“The US has been an incredibly important region and one of the main reasons for Wood Group’s successful growth,” added Sir Ian.
“It goes without saying I receive this award on behalf of all my Wood Group colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic whose drive and commitment has built up Wood Group’s transatlantic business so successfully.”
The award was introduced in the 1970s and awarded annually until 1988, before being revived in 2000, when it was awarded to Senator Trent Lott, the then Republican Senate majority leader, for his work in bringing about National Tartan Day.
Heather Bain, chairwoman of the American-Scottish Foundation, said Sir Ian was “the very embodiment of what the ASF Wallace Award represents”.
David Cunningham, chief executive of the Archie Foundation, said it was “absolutely incredible” that a local charity should benefit from such a prestigious event in New York.
The funds raised at the dinner will be used by the Archie Foundation to provide a specialist nurse at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and also to support a new children’s ward at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.