Global strengthens leadership team with senior strategy appointment to drive energy sector growth

Global, a leading provider of energy and infrastructure solutions, has announced the appointment of Barry Carruthers as its new Chief Strategy Officer. This strategic move aims to enhance the senior leadership team as the company seeks to expand its footprint in the energy sector, positioning itself as a key partner for major energy and infrastructure projects.

With 15 years of experience in the energy industry, Carruthers has held several senior leadership positions at ScottishPower. His expertise encompasses energy portfolio development, policy influence, and clean energy investments, demonstrating a strong ability to transform government policies and market dynamics into viable growth opportunities. He has been instrumental in establishing new business units, including hydrogen, and has shaped early-stage investment cases in project development while managing a portfolio of operational assets. His extensive engagement with government, regulators, public bodies, and industry stakeholders further underscores his qualifications.

In his new role at Global, Carruthers will be responsible for steering the company’s growth strategy in the energy sector. His focus will include market positioning, strategic acquisitions, and the disciplined creation of a pipeline across various sectors, including fabrication, engineering, ports, logistics, renewables, and the broader industrial energy market. He will collaborate closely with the Global leadership team to ensure that the company’s growth ambitions align with its delivery capabilities, thereby supporting strategic initiatives that enhance client engagement and industry frameworks.

The appointment of Carruthers is indicative of Global’s ongoing investment in leadership and capabilities amid significant transformations within the energy sector. Roy MacGregor, Chairman of Global, commented on the appointment, stating: “Barry brings a rare combination of strategic insight, policy understanding and commercial leadership. His experience operating at the interface of government, industry and delivery will be instrumental as Global continues to grow its Energy portfolio and support the delivery of complex, large-scale infrastructure and energy transition programmes.”

A key aspect of Carruthers’ responsibilities will involve external engagement and advocacy, positioning Global as a trusted partner aligned with national and regional energy priorities. He will also serve as a prominent ambassador for the company, representing Global at important industry forums, conferences, and networks.

Reflecting on his new role, Carruthers remarked: “I’ve had fantastic exposure in the past decade to large-scale project developments, construction programmes and operational assets. It’s that experience that highlights to me that this is absolutely the ‘decade of delivery’ with capital available and utility-scale programmes in place. It’s now an exciting time to see the talented companies within the Global group take on the challenges of critical delivery.”

He added, “With the Chairman’s ambition flowing through the leadership team, we can look to grow our capabilities through our multidisciplinary portfolio of companies, but also to bring even more complementary businesses, services and skillsets into a credible, highly valued, and growing delivery group. I’m genuinely excited to see how we can collectively shape and deliver the energy landscape in the coming years and create thousands of new career pathways across the energy landscape as we go on that journey.”

Global has set an ambitious target to increase its turnover from £300 million to £500 million within three years, driven by growth in energy infrastructure. As it approaches its 20th anniversary in late 2025, the company has announced plans for a new 2,000m2 state-of-the-art headquarters at the Inverness Campus Freeport Zone, which will facilitate its expansion and ambition to become the leading provider of energy and infrastructure services.

In the past 18 months, Global has added eight companies to its portfolio, including Global Power Services, formerly known as Approved Power Services, in the energy infrastructure sector. Additionally, Global Infrastructure, an existing group company, has appointed 25 new staff members, including three new Directors, to support tier 1 operators involved in SSEN Transmission’s electricity network upgrade programme in northern Scotland.

Projected turnover for the energy and utilities sector’s civil engineering and construction partner is expected to rise from £60 million to £100 million over the next four years. The company is currently pricing, tendering, and engaging in opportunities that could total up to £500 million across the energy and utilities sectors during this period.