New BGI International Trade Adviser appointed

Business Gateway International (BGI) North East Scotland is pleased to welcome Karen Irving as its new International Trade Adviser, succeeding Fiona Ogilvie who has moved on to a new post with Scottish Enterprise Grampian.

Karen Irving, International Trade Adviser with Business Gateway International (BGI) Karen joins BGI from Perth and Kinross Council, where she was an Economic Development Officer and member of the operations team with Business Gateway International Tayside.

“Karen is already very familiar with the BGI set-up through her five years’ experience in Tayside, and, added to her knowledge of the services of Scottish Development International and other national support agencies, I am sure she will prove to be a valuable addition to the international trade support team in Aberdeen city and shire,” notes Colin Crabbe, International Trade Manager with BGI.

On top of her international trade experience, Karen has also worked in inward investment and economic regeneration, and she has extensive experience in the food, drink and consumer goods sectors.

A native of Coupar Angus, she is a BA Hons graduate in Business Studies and Marketing from Abertay University. A career highlight was manning the Perth and Kinross information unit at last year’s G8 summit at Gleneagles, where she saw “loads of protesters” but very little of Messrs Blair, Bush, Chirac and the rest.

Having joined in January, Karen is currently getting up to speed with BGI North East initiatives and activities, but she is looking forward with enthusiasm to getting out into the field and giving hands-on support to new or inexperienced exporters.

And, only a few weeks into her new post, she has already noted one major difference between the North East and Perthshire business cultures.

“I am astonished at how international so many North East businesses are in their perspective – even when they are comparatively small, they talk about servicing global markets in a very matter-of-fact way.

“In Tayside, exporting was quite a big deal, and businesses understandably made quite a lot of their overseas successes. Up here, they just seem to get on with the job!”

You can contact Karen on 01224 252208, or email her at karen.irving@scotent.co.uk