Carstairs to leave accountants for charity work

Oil and gas adviser Alec Carstairs is leaving Ernst & Young next year to spend more time working for charity.

He will hand over leadership of the firm’s Aberdeen office on 1 January to Derek Leith, Scottish head of tax and also an oil and gas tax specialist.

Carstairs, 54, will remain a partner with Ernst & Young until June. After that he will continue to play an active role in the oil and gas sector as a consultant but also intends to devote more of his time to working with charities including the Vine Trust, which works with some of the poorest children and communities in the world.

He said: “My association with Ernst & Young will not come to a complete end as I will take up a consultancy position with the firm, assisting businesses and entrepreneurs.

“I am also looking forward to extending my activity with various charities, in particular the Vine Trust’s operations in Peru and Tanzania.”

Carstairs started his professional career with Arthur Young McLelland Moores 35 years ago before being made partner in 1988.

He has spent the majority of his time in Aberdeen and has focused on oil and gas transactions for more than 25 years, playing a key role in major deals including the sale of Macgregor Energy Services to 3i and, more recently, Wood Group’s acquisition of PSN.

Leith has 21 years of experience of the oil and gas industry having held roles at HMRC and BP before joining Ernst & Young in Aberdeen in 1995.