Eagle Couriers appoints operations manager just six years after joining as 15-year-old schoolboy

Eagle Couriers has appointed a new operations manager just six years after he joined the company as a 15-year-old schoolboy.

Samuel Milne has been put in charge of operations at one of Scotland’s largest courier firms at the age of only 21.

Milne is part of the management team at the Bathgate-based firm which has 120 staff working in the core courier business division and fast-growing offshoot, Eagle Aviation. Serving 33 airports and 120 airline groups, Eagle Aviation handles and returns more than 350,000 bags a year to their owner-travellers and clients include Emirates, Jet2, Virgin Atlantic, Loganair, Etihad and Ryanair.

Milne said: “My favourite part of school was home time and I left as soon as I could, but I was very fortunate to be offered a role at Eagle after doing a seven-week work placement when I was 14.

Eagle Couriers MD Fiona Deas and operations manager Samuel Milne.

“Eagle has always felt like a family business. I’ve spent one third of my life here and have effectively grown up with many of my colleagues.”

Managing director Fiona Deas said: “Samuel has grown up personally and professionally with the business, and has developed from a young inexperienced school leaver into a highly valued member of the Eagle Couriers team.

“Attracting, nurturing and retaining the next generation of young talent is something we’re really passionate about - and Samuel is a great example of how this can work effectively.”

Milne added: “The company has changed massively in the time I have been here and working with Fiona I’ve been able to help in building the infrastructure as we grow. I love working here and I am determined to take every possible avenue and opportunity to help Eagle succeed and grow.

“’Eagle Aviation was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic following the winding up of THS Couriers, a company acquired by the Eagle Group in 2018. This allowed us to rebuild from scratch which was a fantastic experience to work on the launch of a new business and to use the experience I gained over the years at Eagle to design the operation just the way we wanted it.”

Eagle Couriers was established in 1985.