Sir Moir Lockhead the man to put SRU back on track

The 66-year-old who lives on a 300-acre cattle farm in Aberdeenshire has dipped into various aspects of Scottish rugby since being announced in February as the new man to take over from Allan Munro as SRU board chairman at the agm on 25 June. Having retired in March as chief executive of FirstGroup after 21 years, he has been turning up at rugby events across the country from the Melrose Sevens to presenting awards at Lathallan Schools' inaugural sevens tournament, and speaking to figures at various levels in the game.

In retaining a low-key presence and declining interview requests, however, there has been no doubting his motive simply to gain a deeper appreciation of Scottish rugby before replacing Munro in the chair.

So who is Sir Moir, the man who many hope or believe could spark a turnaround in the fortunes of Scottish rugby?

Lockhead was born in County Durham in April, 1945, and left school at 15 to become an apprentice mechanic. A post as chief engineer with Glasgow City Transport brought him north in 1979 and he joined Grampian Regional Transport as General Manager in 1985. He led a management buy-out on the deregulation of public transport in 1989 and went on to build FirstGroup into a global travel operator, with roles as chief executive and deputy chairman.

From the 500 employees of 1989, it now has 130,000 employees and a 6bn turnover. FirstGroup is now the largest bus and rail operator in the UK and largest surface transport operator in North America, running approximately 60,000 school buses and the famous Greyhound service.

Ian McLauchlan, the former Scotland and British and Irish Lions prop, and current SRU President, identified Sir Moir as a potential replacement for Munro, who has to stand down this month after six years at the helm, and was delighted when he indicated an enthusiasm to join the SRU and then came through the interview process to land the board's vote.

Another who knows Lockhead well is Martin Gilbert, the chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management and chairman of FirstGroup for the 21 years that Sir Moir was chief executive.

Gilbert believes Scottish rugby has uncovered a rare gem to take it forward.

Speaking from New York, where he is on business, Gilbert told The Scotsman: "It is a fantastic appointment for Scottish rugby and I have every confidence that Sir Moir will make a difference to the game in Scotland in the coming years."He is an impressive leader and it has been a privilege to work alongside Sir Moir over the past 21 years. His work will ensure the continued long term success of FirstGroup for many years to come and I have every confidence we will see similar strengths emerge in his role within Scottish rugby..

"I know Allan (Munro] pretty well too, having worked in the asset management business for many years. But I worked with Moir for over 20 years and he is a remarkable, driven individual, who when change is required will drive it through. He will make things happen in Scottish rugby - when he wants things to happen, they do."

Gilbert has been involved with the Scottish game in recent years, AAM recently agreeing a new two-year deal to sponsor Edinburgh and this week announcing a link-up with promoted London Scottish. He feels that Moir's appointment will help because Scottish rugby needs change.

"Personally, I would prefer to see the (pro] clubs having more of an identity of their own," he added. "Give them more control over their own decisions and ability to drive the teams.

"Yes, allocate a certain amount from the SRU budget, but then let them make decisions on how and where to use it and how to make it grow.

"At the moment I don't really think the clubs have the identity that they could have, but I have little doubt that Moir will look at that. He is a very, very effective guy and he will chair the board extremely well."

Clearly, Lockhead will merely be one non-executive member of the SRU board when he joins, and the day-to-day operation of Scottish rugby will remain in the hands of Gordon McKie, the chief executive. However, there have been questions asked of the effectiveness of the current board and, while McKie has attracted criticism, the board must also come under scrutiny for supporting unpopular decisions, or failing to challenge them.

The position of chairman remains a key one, and a close working relationship and understanding between a chair and chief executive is regularly cited as the route to success. But it also brings with it the responsibility to challenge.

Prior to Munro, David Mackay chaired the executive board and, after an initial period of bedding in, he moved Bill Watson aside and, with the backing of his board, promoted Phil Anderton from the position of marketing director to chief executive.

Mackay and Anderton were both forced to resign as the old general committee of elected club representatives flexed their muscles over the prospect of new governance but, ironically, that succeeded only in sparking a radical shake-up of the SRU's governance and introduction of a new system shifting the power from the representatives to the board and executives.

Sir Moir has a long history of operating on boards, both inside the transport industry and beyond. He is Senior Governor and Chancellor's Assessor of the University of Aberdeen, and chaired Scottish Enterprise Grampian from 1998 to 2001.

He was awarded an OBE in the Queen's birthday honours in 1996 and a Knighthood for services to transport.

Sir Moir was named Scotland plc Chief Executive of the Year in 2007 and Institute of Directors Scotland Director of the Year in 2008. He will bring a new set of skills, with a customer focus that could inject a significant new level of expertise into the SRU's attempts to develop professional rugby. More pertinently, perhaps, he is known as a man with no time for power struggles.