83
Alan McTaggart,
HND Business Studies, 1983
What are your fondest memories of being a student
at Edinburgh Napier?
“Playing pool in the Portakabin! The good friends
I made, who were quite unaffected people, from
various backgrounds – it was a very friendly
campus. I had my first trip overseas when I
was studying at Napier – I went to Hawaii for a
summertime job in 1982 and worked on a sugar
plantation for three months. Until then I had never
been very far away from my rural upbringing in
Dumfries & Galloway – I had only ever travelled to
England on holiday and I’d never travelled outside
the UK.
“I also remember my first shared flat. It was in
Broomhouse, which at the time was considered a
rough area. When my father came to visit me there
for the first time he was all for packing my bags and
getting me out! But, I was quite comfortable with
my new friends, if not quite with my new home.”
Can you describe your career progression?
“I got my first job, through introductions arising
from contacts and friendships, in a shipping
transportation company – part of the Jardine
Matheson Group. Within 20 days of leaving Napier,
I was working in London; a place I had never set
foot in until I arrived with £10 in my pocket. I felt
like a wee man in a big city, but I was excited and
happily anticipating what lay ahead.
“Several years later I saw an opportunity on an
International Executive Programme with Jardine
Matheson in Hong Kong. I’d always wanted to work
overseas and I knew the company, so off I headed to
Asia – that was 25 years ago!
“The Far East continues to offer good business
opportunities, particularly in comparison to
many economies elsewhere in the world. I’m now
Director of Group Logistics for a large HK based
public company, Techtronic Industries Ltd (TTI).
TTI started over 25 years ago. It has become both
a manufacturer and supplier and has grown to a
nearly USD $4billion company.”
Do you think you gained any skills at Edinburgh
Napier that equipped you for your career?
“Yes, I do. I learnt the basics of marketing and
promoting products; building relationships, working
in teams where people had different aspirations
and the challenges that involved. The statistics part
of the course I used quite considerably in the early
part of my career. I genuinely believe that the skills
I gained at Napier were applicable immediately in
my early roles.”
Did you know…
That Reporting Scotland presenter,
Catriona Shearer, BA (Hons)
Journalism 2003, was awarded
Journalism Alumna of the Year
in 2012 (voted for by current
students).