and developed a hunger to know more about the managerial side of business operations . With NEC unveiling plans to build a new facility , the chance came up to travel to Tokyo as part of the core project team . It was such a novelty that Ross and the four colleagues in the team even made the local paper , the West Lothian Courier .
After Tokyo , Ross spent three and a half months in Kumamoto , learning more about technical processes , and the Japanese experience enriched him both culturally and professionally .
“ It opened up a different world for me ,” he recalls . “ Japanese people are extremely hospitable , and we were forever being introduced to different people , wanting to practise their English .”
He returned home with a sharpened appetite for backing up his practical experience with academic qualifications , so embarked on a master ’ s degree in business at Edinburgh ’ s Napier University .
Sadly , in 2001 , NEC closed its West Lothian site after becoming uncompetitive in the wake of the semiconductor market being flooded from South Korea . It was a massive blow to the Scottish economy , with a total loss of 35,000 jobs .
Armed with his master ’ s degree , Ross sought pastures new , and headed to the south of England to join BAE Systems as head of operations ( manufacturing ) in Rochester , working on programmes that included the Eurofighter , Joint Strike Fighter , and the Tiger helicopters made famous by the James Bond films .
With his reputation growing , he was headhunted to become European director of the Gates Corporation , and impressed further by successfully managing additional projects in South America . An offer to be UK managing director followed , and the rise continued when he was made vice president , then European senior vice president , ending up looking after 11 manufacturing facilities and four distribution facilities .
Ross joined Hitachi Rail in 2017 , as chief operating officer for manufacturing , before taking over as COO Rolling Stock UK in 2020 , the year of Covid-19 . It is a testament to his leadership , and the quality of the rest of the team , that Hitachi Rail not only maintained production but invested in the future despite such global economic uncertainty .
18 | Aycliffe Business