Alison Somerville

Managing Director; QHSE, Culture and Wellbeing Lead

“As an Arts graduate, and as a woman, I probably don’t fit the traditional mould for my role.”

My management background is in textiles, but at the turn of the millennium, as globalisation was biting the UK textiles sector, I took the opportunity to join the family engineering business in a Business Development role on a short-term basis – or that was the plan at the time!

20 years on, I am still here and feel proud and privileged to be at the helm.

My interests span across science and art and I hope that this shows in my approach to life and leadership. I genuinely believe in people and relish the opportunity to help support our people through offering job security, stability and camaraderie. Having completed an MBA some time ago, I’m in the process of completing a Safety and Risk Management postgrad course. This academic background, and my belief in the value of togetherness and team spirit lends itself to my role as Team Lead of QHSE, Culture and Wellbeing team.

On a wider Leadership basis, I aspire to the ‘3P’ or ‘triple bottom line’ business sustainability model and encourage others to consider it too – People, Planet and Profit, working together. This model guides our behaviours at work, our values and our culture.

Outside of work, I volunteer as a member of the steering group for ‘Developing Young Workforce, Ayrshire’, and as a Board Member for the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce and the Ayrshire Engineering Alliance.