Strategic Growth Services
John Young, CEO
About you
Tell us a bit about your organisation (who are you, where do you operate)
Strategic Growth Services was launched in 2020 and consists of a global network of experienced strategy and business development executives who provide bespoke consulting services supporting sector players and SMEs in sustaining and growing their business in key markets. As a 20 strong global network team, we leverage our industry knowledge and market intelligence and use our proven track record in accelerating growth, diversification and export ambitions for energy players globally to create bespoke best fit project portfolios for customers.
What is keeping you busy currently? What large projects are you working on?
We have been working with a broad range of businesses in the energy sector to help them with their growth strategies, including a European Oil & Gas major; Tier 1 engineering contractors; critical equipment suppliers and leading technology companies.
With Siemens Energy, Wood, the Net Zero Technology Centre, Greenbackers Investment Capital and the EIC, we co-founded Financing Technology to Net Zero which is a collaborative initiative with the aim of helping to create conditions for accelerated investment in net zero technologies.
We’ve also recently launched our new E-SGS Dashboard & Index which uses a systematic methodology (built to ISO standard methodology and utilising accepted ESG principles) that businesses can use to ensure that, at low cost, they have a complete and comprehensive response to ESG.
What are some of the opportunities/challenges you see for your organisation in the future?
Strategic Growth Services is primarily a growth consultancy. Resources will always be the key issue for our industry as we transition from oil and gas and collaboration should be a vector which helps the industry make best use of its human resources. The stop / start nature of engineering work in Aberdeen and beyond, is due to the volatile market for such services which may be caused by oil price fluctuation, but the challenge is not how to sit it out and make hay in the good times, but how to manage all the scenarios.
How would you describe the company culture? Do you have any specific shared values?
The company culture at Strategic Growth Services is one of expertise, independence and credibility – as consultants across the globe, we recognise that each of our consultants have extensive leadership expertise and credibility in their respective fields. Each of us bring decades of experience and extensive local knowledge to add value for our customers, and we all share the same vision of delivering credible long-term business growth for our clients. As a privately owned business, we have no allegiance to any parent company technologies, ensuring that our recommendations are driven solely by the desire to improve our clients’ business and prioritising the projects with the maximum business return based on reliable project intelligence.
Find out more:
About your OEUK membership
As an SME how is OEUK membership helping your business?
OEUK is a keen supporter of our services, however we would encourage the OEUK to develop an inclusive range of offerings throughout the UK which services all stakeholders, as without a base in Aberdeen we sometimes feel excluded.
Which OEUK event did you most enjoy and why?
Given the work we are doing in the ESG arena with our E-SGS offering the ESG forum has been of most interest.
OEUK has over Fourteen Forums, which forum do you attend and what do you like most about that particular forum?
We attend several, including Energy Transition, SME, ESG and Supply Chain Principles. The Supply Chain Principles is of particular interest as the issues raised are fundamental to our business remit.
Future of the industry
What are the biggest net zero changes you have seen in our industry?
As the global picture is changing, it becomes imperative to develop a robust business strategy and action plan to enable transition from current to future energy scenarios. Larger companies also need to effectively communicate their energy transition and ESG needs to the supply chain. Many companies are struggling to develop a robust ESG strategy, beyond looking at their Environmental factors.
How do you see the industry looking in 20 years?
The industry faces a key challenge that a net zero energy landscape is in fact regulated businesses running on utilities margins and not traditional oil and gas margins. This requires a focussed and systematic approach to strategy.
How is your organisation driving the transition to net zero?
We’re proud to have been involved in supporting the transition to net zero in many ways:
- We helped advise the OEUK on the North Sea Transition Deal signed by the UK Government and OEUK on behalf of the sector resulting in increased acceptance of gas as a transition fuel by HMG
- We are a founding member of Financing Technology to Net Zero, which is a collaborative initiative with the aim of helping to create conditions for accelerated investment in net zero technologies. We’re in good company with the other nine founding members, including Siemens Energy, Wood, the Net Zero Technology Centre, Greenbackers Investment Capital and the EIC.
- We are helping our customers identify ways to pivot their business into renewables, resulting in new revenue streams and future financial security. We have also launched their E-SGS Dashboard and Index this year, which is a systematic methodology (built to ISO standard methodology and utilising accepted principles) that businesses can use to ensure they have a complete and comprehensive response to ESG. This is imperative for long term business success as investors are looking more and more to these factors for company credibility.
