Bill Gammell
Encyclopedia
Sir William Benjamin Bowring Gammell, commonly known as Bill Gammell (born 29 December 1952) is a Scottish
sportsman and industrialist.
. His father was an investment banker, invited at an early age to join Edinbugh's Ivory & Sime (which was started in the late 1800s with the formation of the British Assets Trust.) Gammell attended Edinburgh's exclusive Fettes College
where he was friends and debating partners with future British Prime Minister
Tony Blair
. The two have remained close friends. After Fettes, Gammell attended the University of Stirling
where he obtained a BA in Economics and Accountancy.
at county level and for the Scottish national team
. A tall winger, he earned five international caps, and played in the game against Japan
in 1977 in Tokyo
when he scored four tries in the Scots' 74-9 victory.
Gammell scored two tries on his debut for Scotland, against Ireland at Murrayfield in 1977.
, he founded Cairn Energy
in Edinburgh. The company invested in several unsuccessful oilfields in the US before making a modest strike in the Pennsylvania
oilfield. Gammell was appointed Cairn's Chief Executive on its initial listing in 1989. In the mid 1990s he led the company in a radical reallocation of its assets, moving out of US and North Sea
oil and gas concerns and into neglected fields in South Asia. The company's fortunes soared in 2004, when a field it had bought in 2001 (for $7.5 million) from Shell
in the India
n province of Rajasthan
was found to contain close to 1.1 billion barrels of oil, catapulting it into the FTSE 100.
Gammell was paid an annual salary of £552,000 for his role as chief executive at Cairn Energy. On 1 July 2011 Gammell assumed the role of non-executive chairman.
Gammell's father invested in US oil company Bush-Overbey, owned by future US President George H. W. Bush
. The two families became friends, with George W. Bush
spending the summer at the Gammell's farm in Scotland. George W. attended Bill Gammell's wedding in Glasgow
in 1983. The two have remained close friends. When George W. Bush assumed the Presidency, both he and Blair reportedly called their mutual friend Gammell to ask his opinion of the other.
Bill Gammell a director of the Scottish Institute of Sport
and Artemis AiM VCT plc., and in 2004 he was awarded UK Entrepreneur of the Year. In the 2006 honours list, Gammell was made a Knight Bachelor
"for services to Industry in Scotland". In 2011 he was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration by Robert Gordon University
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
sportsman and industrialist.
Early life
Bill Gammell was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. His father was an investment banker, invited at an early age to join Edinbugh's Ivory & Sime (which was started in the late 1800s with the formation of the British Assets Trust.) Gammell attended Edinburgh's exclusive Fettes College
Fettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
where he was friends and debating partners with future British Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. The two have remained close friends. After Fettes, Gammell attended the University of Stirling
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling is a campus university founded by Royal charter in 1967, on the Airthrey Estate in Stirling, Scotland.-History and campus development:...
where he obtained a BA in Economics and Accountancy.
Rugby
Gammell played rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
at county level and for the Scottish national team
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
. A tall winger, he earned five international caps, and played in the game against Japan
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
in 1977 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
when he scored four tries in the Scots' 74-9 victory.
Gammell scored two tries on his debut for Scotland, against Ireland at Murrayfield in 1977.
Business career
After his rugby career was ended by injury, Gammell followed his father into business. Using venture capitalVenture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
, he founded Cairn Energy
Cairn Energy
Cairn Energy plc is a global oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. It has operational interests in Albania, Bangladesh, Greenland, India, Nepal and Tunisia and produces around 33,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day...
in Edinburgh. The company invested in several unsuccessful oilfields in the US before making a modest strike in the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
oilfield. Gammell was appointed Cairn's Chief Executive on its initial listing in 1989. In the mid 1990s he led the company in a radical reallocation of its assets, moving out of US and North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
oil and gas concerns and into neglected fields in South Asia. The company's fortunes soared in 2004, when a field it had bought in 2001 (for $7.5 million) from Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n province of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
was found to contain close to 1.1 billion barrels of oil, catapulting it into the FTSE 100.
Gammell was paid an annual salary of £552,000 for his role as chief executive at Cairn Energy. On 1 July 2011 Gammell assumed the role of non-executive chairman.
Gammell's father invested in US oil company Bush-Overbey, owned by future US President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
. The two families became friends, with George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
spending the summer at the Gammell's farm in Scotland. George W. attended Bill Gammell's wedding in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
in 1983. The two have remained close friends. When George W. Bush assumed the Presidency, both he and Blair reportedly called their mutual friend Gammell to ask his opinion of the other.
Bill Gammell a director of the Scottish Institute of Sport
Scottish Institute of Sport
The Scottish Institute of Sport is the national sports development body in Scotland. It is part of sportscotland, a publicly owned company which is partly funded by the UK's National Lottery.The SIS was established in 1998...
and Artemis AiM VCT plc., and in 2004 he was awarded UK Entrepreneur of the Year. In the 2006 honours list, Gammell was made a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
"for services to Industry in Scotland". In 2011 he was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration by Robert Gordon University
Robert Gordon University
Robert Gordon University is located in Aberdeen, Scotland. Building on over 250 years involvement in education, it was granted university status in 1992. Robert Gordon University currently has approximately 16,407 students at its two campuses at Garthdee and the City Centre, studying on over 145...
.
External links
- Bill Gammell on the Sporting Heroes database
- Shooting Star?
- Gammell strikes oil at EoY
- Forbes report on Gammell and Cairn
- Expat-village biography of Gammell
- 2006 honours list