Rod MacGregor has headed up businesses for 30 years, leading companies in the United States, Europe, China and the Middle East. Oil & Gas Middle East finds out what makes him tick.
I grew up slightly north of Glasgow, Scotland in a place called Renton, which was a bit like the Wild West. What I wanted to be was a pilot; I wanted to go into the RAF and fly a Spitfire.
You have to have an engineering degree to be a pilot, and that meant studying computer science, which I thought was fantastic. I graduated in the early 80s when software and computers were the big thing – there was a lot of money in the industry. It made me think that if I want to fly and I can be successful, then I can buy a plane. That’s the way you think when you’re 19.
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial side. My first job was getting paid sixpence from my Dad to clean up rubbish on the fields outside the flats we grew up in. I paid thruppence to the boy next door to do it. My Dad caught me and said he’d only give me thruppence as that was clearly the price of the job. That made me realise you have to add value.
I started my own software consultancy at University and employed some other students and a few lecturers. When I graduated I was offered a grant to develop the business but turned it down for a job offer at the United Nations.
Working in Geneva for the UN expanded my mind. Growing up in West Scotland can be quite insular and you can have preconceptions, but when you meet people from all over the world you realise they’re not actually true.
I loved the can-do attitude of California. As a working-class boy coming from the UK, that was amazing to be able to get funded and be told anything was possible.
Strategic investment is about more than money. I’ve partnered with AT&T and Intel for software, VW for car components and now Shell for oil and gas. Their dollar is worth as much as any other investor but strategic investots have knowledge that can help you accelerate your business.
Young people are coming back to engineering. There was a time when they were not interested, but the pipeline is filling up again, but it will take a while for them to graduate, train and get experience.
I would encourage people to get into the energy industry. Technologically, it is very interesting and challenging. I would encourage students to explore the energy industry. The energy industry powers the economy, and it is very interesting and challenging.
Sometimes the solar industry can be its own worst enemy and it says ‘buy this, let’s save the planet’, which is very noble but businesses have to make decisions that make economic sense.
Our approach was to develop something that makes economic sense that also happens to be green. We’ve made something that becomes part of a core business rather than part of somebody’s marketing budget.
You need to get to that point before it can take off.
Starting with nothing and ending up with something is what drives me. That can be a piece of software or a company or a miniature motor or a solar installation in the desert – that’s the fun part.
What else do you need to know about Rod?
Rod MacGregor’s first company, Insignia Solutions Ltd, received the Queen of England’s Awards for technical achievement and the Queen’s Award for export achievement. It subseqently went public on the NASDAQ.
