A peer-to-peer support and advisory organisation for business leaders is to expand into Edinburgh – with a former senior executive of a global business at the helm.

Helping others: Andy Todd, a former senior VP with Wood Mackenzie, is launching The Alternative Board in Edinburgh.

Andy Todd, a former senior vice-president at Wood Mackenzie, the global research and analysis consultancy, is to lead The Alternative Board’s (TAB) launch and growth in the capital.

The TAB network was launched in Scotland in 2017 and has seven boards – four in the north-east and three in the Glasgow area. Each board provides a trusted space for entrepreneurs to share experience and knowledge at monthly online meetings, to help them pursue their individual business development objectives. 

Andy, who lives in Balerno near Edinburgh, has expertise in areas ranging from business strategy, sales & marketing and customer engagement to international growth plans and due diligence projects.

He said: “The Alternative Board is a stand-out for me as a business advisory organisation and I’m delighted to be leading the formation of boards in Edinburgh.

“I’m passionate about passing on the lessons I’ve learned from a 30-year career in business, and look forward to doing so in a peer-to-peer support environment which is both powerful and authentic.

“The pandemic has put an incredible amount of pressure on the shoulders of business leaders and I’m aiming to work with them to find solutions. We’ll focus on what is important to the business and its customers – on what needs to change – and help them to enjoy running their business despite the challenges of Covid-19. 

“The aim with TAB is always the same: for participants to leave meetings with ideas, strategies or actions that will have an immediate and positive impact.”

Andy set up Wood Mackenzie’s Middle East office in Dubai and led a team of 70 as senior vice-president, head of sales EMEARC (Europe, Middle East, Africa, Russia and Caspian) on his return to Edinburgh. He has an MBA in International Business from Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University and a BSc (Hons) in Materials Science from the University of Sunderland.

With plans to launch the first Edinburgh TAB board next month [October], Andy is holding free online taster sessions to allow company owners and decision-makers in larger organisations the opportunity to find out more. He is already advising a university spin-out and a digital start-up that raised six-figures in a first round of funding.

In addition to supporting board meetings, TAB facilitators also support board members with one-to-one engagement. Members pay a monthly fee to join a TAB board. The Alternative Board started nearly 30 years ago in the United States. There are TAB boards across 20 countries, with 80 in the UK in total.