Tom Smith
Tom is the Executive Chairman and a founder of Nessco Group Holdings Ltd – one of the UK’s largest independent providers of telecommunication services and solutions to the global O&G industry.
Nessco Group’s headquarters is in Aberdeen but also has operations in Baku, Azerbaijan and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company employs over 140 staff from its custom built premises in Westhill which also accommodates Nessco’s Satellite Earth Station providing Vsat links to numerous offshore locations in the UKCS and far beyond.
Nessco is active in projects across the globe and is currently delivering complex telecom networks on and offshore in locations such as Brazil, Peru, Australia, West Africa and the Middle East.
Tom was born and educated in Aberdeen – and qualified in Electronics from Southampton. He began is career as an Electronics Officer in the Merchant Navy before moving back to participate in the then emerging offshore O&G industry in the late 1970’s.
He was co-chair of Oil & Gas UK - the industry’s representative body and also a former member of the Government/Industry body PILOT, charged with optimizing oil and gas production in the UK.
Tom is also a non executive director of Univation Ltd, the commercial arm of The Robert Gordon University.
Tom was previously President of the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce.
He was awarded the Regional Director of the Year award by the Institute of Directors for 2006 and was also awarded the Sir Alick Buchanan-Smith Award – for Personal Achievement in the Scottish Offshore Achievement Awards in Feb 2005.
In November 2008 Tom received an honorary doctorate in Technology from The Robert Gordon University.
He also became Aberdeen’s first Oil Baron in 2007
In 2008 he became Chairman of ACSEF (Aberdeen City & Shire Economic Future), the public-private sector partnerships charged with delivering economic development in the North East of Scotland.
Tom is involved with several charities namely : CLIC Sargent, CLAN (Cancer Link Aberdeen & North) and Cash for Kids (CFK).