Andrew is our 7 H hotel strategy guy. Andrew is our communication link between the hotel general managers and the centre, as well as looking after management development.
Andrew brings a unique skill set to 7 H after successful careers in both hotels and Higher Education.
He is proud to remind us that he was Swallow Hotels (Vaux Group) youngest ever General Manager, going on to manage three properties, as well as gaining experience of multi-site management, pre-opening, and disposals.
During his time with Robert Gordon University he created, and ran, the Scottish Centre of Tourism as Director. This Centre delivered academic undergraduate course, launched a post graduate course, undertook funded research and consultancy. Andrew was part of the senior team in the Aberdeen Business School and held the responsibility for staff development.
Andrew holds a hotel and catering degree from Napier, Edinburgh, an MBA from Aberdeen University and a PhD from Robert Gordon University. His PhD was on hotel general management across contemporary business models. In 2009 he enjoyed a secondment as Visiting Professor to Washburn University in Kansas.
But he’s no dusty academic. Andrew held the post of Vice-Chair of the Aberdeen and Shire Hotel Association for 7 years, and latterly Chair. During this time, he championed a joined-up approach to tourism destination development across the city region, working with all stakeholders and advising Holyrood on tourism policy.
Since leaving Higher Education Andrew has been involved with strategy within the Third Sector, serving as Chair for Braemar Castle Ltd, and sitting on the Boards of: Grampian Transport Museum (Alford), The Burn (Edzell), Portsoy Community Enterprise, and Braemar Community Limited.
In his down-time Andrew hosts events and indulges his passion for cars and motorbikes, which led to him writing a monthly column in the press.