OPINION
ROSS JAMESON,
CENTRE PRINCIPAL, PORSCHE
CENTRE TEESSIDE, AUTUMN 2017
“I have performed the Heimlich
Manoeuvre in public and saved a work
colleague’s life. I could see him struggling
whilst eating in a busy restaurant. I
sprang into action, Mrs Doubtfire-style,
and the large piece of steak he was
choking on flew out of his mouth.”
Neil Whittingham
NEIL WHITTINGHAM,
MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACKLAM
HALL, SUMMER 2017
“I’ve stood fast on this project for
10 years and it’s been wrongly
criticised in the press, which is
disappointing. The critics don’t
understand what my motivation is.
Accusing Acklam Hall of being sold
to me on the cheap is a low punch.”
CLAIRE PRESTON,
TEES BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE
YEAR 2018, WINTER 2018
“It’s important to get out there and go
for it – not to make excuses that it’s hard
being a woman – because you never
know what’s around the corner.”
Claire Preston
PROF JANE TURNER OBE,
PRO VICE-CHANCELLOR FOR
ENTERPRISE AND BUSINESS
ENGAGEMENT, TEESSIDE
UNIVERSITY, AUTUMN 2018
“I turned 50 in March 2017, got an
OBE in June and a cancer diagnosis in
September. What a hell of a six months.”
the Tees
Jane Turner
BILL SCOTT OBE, CEO, WILTON
ENGINEERING, AUTUMN 2018
“There simply isn’t a downside to my
working life. I’m very fortunate that I’m
able to take the rough with the smooth
and when things don’t go to plan I relish
getting in among it to sort it out.”
Yasmin Khan
YASMIN KHAN, DIRECTOR, HALO
PROJECT, SUMMER 2019
“Why not us? We have fantastic talent.
I want to make sure those groups that
need it have a voice. That every single
person has an opportunity to be safe, to
reach their potential and to have hope.”
FRANS CALJE,
CEO, PD PORTS, SUMMER 2019
“My business mantra is ‘It is what it is’.
What I mean by that is that on many
occasions you’re faced with a situation
or an outcome that is not what was
foreseen or wanted. But you can’t
change the past, so there is no point
dwelling on what could have been
done differently…as it is what it is. The
question is ‘What are you going to do
about it?’”
Catherine Devereux
CATHERINE DEVEREUX,
THE RUSS DEVEREUX HEADLIGHT
PROJECT, WINTER 2019
“I struggled with seeing the Devereux
trucks at first, but I am so proud of being
a Devereux and that’s because of Russ.”
SHARON LANE,
MD, TEES COMPONENTS, TEES
BUSINESSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
2019
“It’s about encouraging other women
to step forward because you can’t
complain about lack of representation
if you don’t take part. I want to give
others the confidence to step forward. If
I don’t do that over the next 12 months
then I think I will have failed.”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 29