Planning Your Career Journey with Ian Buchan and Fraser McLaren

Last week Rutherford Cross hosted the latest in our Planning Your Career Journey series in Glasgow. We were delighted to welcome Ian Buchan, Partner of Nevis Capital and Fraser McLaren, Group FC of Amaris Hospitality, to share their career journeys with our audience.

After completing his traineeship in audit, Ian Buchan was keen to be involved in forward thinking business activity and moved into Corporate Finance. Ian then took a sabbatical from PwC and joined the Clinton Hunter Foundation in Malawi, creating sustainable businesses with a significant social impact. Upon returning to Scotland, Ian had a few career options and chose Nevis Capital as it gave him greater scope to influence across a number of businesses.

Ian spoke enthusiastically about Nevis Capital’s business model and how he has learned a great deal from his Partners there. Nevis is driven by a passion for buying and enriching SME businesses through committing their own time, money and expertise..

 

Ian’s key career pointers were:

  • Work out what you are passionate about and go for it wholeheartedly
  • Find people you want to learn from and keep learning
  • When considering a career move the long-term pros and cons should be prioritised over short term gains
  • It’s your consistent level of performance that sets your level – not the peak you hit now and then.

 

Fraser McLaren talked us through the incredible journey Amaris Hospitality has undertaken in the last 18 months. He gave insight as to what’s involved in a rapidly evolving, PE backed business and putting together the right structure. Fraser was open about taking time to find the right profession for him and how his passion for business and his numerical skills helped him arrive at EY. He moved from tax to restructuring and joined KPMG before expanding his skillset with a couple of roles in industry. Fraser has a real passion for implementing the right systems and processes to ensure a business is built on the best foundations to allow expansion.

 

Fraser’s key pointers were:

  • Always complete the project you’re working on, as you will be remembered for its success or failure
  • Adopt the positive traits of your mentors and try to think as they would
  • Aim to achieve balance, your personal life and professional life are intertwined
  • Be agile, the professional world is continually changing as are your priorities, so take an open approach to change

 

For more information about this event and other Rutherford Cross ‘Planning Your Career Journey’ events, contact [email protected].