Mike joined BGF in January 2012, where he leads its Aberdeen office with responsibility for originating and delivering investments in the north of Scotland. BGF has over £100m invested in north Scotland, and Mike works with the investee companies’ management teams to help maximise their potential. He is also a director on the boards of five BGF investments, Spex, Rovop, Petrotechnics, Inoapps, and Frontrow Energy Technology Group. He started his career as a drilling engineer with Shell, working mostly in exploration in Angola and Congo, then joined 3i, and, after spells in Birmingham and Cambridge, moved to Aberdeen in 2004, where he invested in both oil service and exploration and production companies.
What makes a successful entrepreneur?
“A successful entrepreneur is by definition a strong and non-conformist character, with a passion for the business, a drive to make it work, and inspirational leadership to get the best from the company’s people. He/she is usually outward-looking and the company’s best salesperson, is not be diverted by risk, has absolute clarity of what the business is trying to achieve, and sets an unrelenting pace.”
What will you be looking for in this year's finalists?
“As Peter F Drucker said, ‘Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision’. I have a huge amount of respect for people who have taken risks to set up a business. I really look forward to hearing about the courageous decisions the finalists made, and the vision and tenacity required to scale it up.”
Twitter: @msibbo
