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Dr. Frank Blin, CBE
Email: [email protected]; Mobile: 07802 228042
Professional Profile
I am an experienced partner and strategic leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers at home and abroad, a former
UK Board and international leadership team member. Executive Chairman of PwC Scotland, my “one firm”
strategy of business development, marketing, and client management has made us one of the country’s
leading businesses.
I am currently, or have been, a trusted advisor to numerous leading entrepreneurs, including Sir Philip Green
(Arcadia), Sir Tom Hunter (Sports Division), David Moulsdale (Optical Express) and Jim McColl (Clyde
Blowers). I am also well-known in the boardrooms of many FTSE 100 companies including; Weir Group plc,
Aggreko plc, Stagecoach plc RBS plc and HBOS plc. A long-time advocate of fast growing and
entrepreneurial companies, I was an early supporter of the Entrepreneurial Exchange in Scotland, and
championed the establishment of the government-backed Scottish Co-Investment Fund.
I have significant transactional experience across the UK and internationally, strong leadership skills and am
a good team player. I have extensive experience working across various stakeholder groups, including
banks, private equity and management teams.
I am now keen to bring these skills to roles as an Executive Chairman of fast growing entrepreneurial
companies.
Roles and Experience
I summarise at Appendix A some examples of my significant transactional experience. My experience and
skills gained in roles as Chairman, Board Director, Non-Executive and professional advisor includes:
Experience
Skills
Fostering Entrepreneurship
Corporate restructuring and insolvency
Corporate finance and cost reduction
Business expansion, transformation
Governance, risk, audit
Managing people and developing talent
Anticipating issues and challenging thinking
Leadership and Management
Trusted advisor
Motivating teams
Managing stakeholders across:
Global, national and regional leadership teams
Government, public sector and business
Diverse cultures (Europe, Asia, USA and Canada)
Media and community
PricewaterhouseCoopers Career History
Since 2008: Executive Chairman, Scotland and Senior UK Client Relationship Partner
I lead PwC’s Scottish business, the largest professional services firm in Scotland, with around 60 partners
and directors plus 900 staff dedicated to providing tax, audit, business recovery, corporate finance, forensic,
consulting, and transaction services. My recent achievements include:
 Developing a profitable strategy for very changed market conditions, for example by sustaining our focus
on the needs of the fast changing financial services sector, building our expertise in the relatively buoyant
oil and gas sector, and developing our approach to the emerging renewable energy industry while
demanding greater flexibility from staff across our business in return for job security.
 Continuing the growth in PwC’s turnover in Scotland, up 20% to £150 million in 2010 after growing by 5%
in the previous year, bucking the trend for professional services firms.
 Overseeing the winning and delivery of numerous significant client projects, sustaining a very active
engagement and involvement in boardrooms across many sectors in the UK.
 Preserving the quality of PwC’s staff despite adverse economic conditions. This has included holding our
nerve and investing in our graduate recruitment programme, ensuring our offering into the future.
1998-2008: Member of UK Board (1998-2006) and Head of UK Regions (1998-2008)
Following the merger of Coopers & Lybrand with Price Waterhouse to form PwC, I joined its UK Board and
ran the UK Regions business, delivering services to the firm’s mid tier clients from 33 offices with 400
Partners and 7,000 staff, some 50% of PwC’s total UK business. Among my successes were:
 Managing the merger of the regional businesses, with 33 offices and 7,000 staff, rationalising both partner
and staff numbers and creating a common firm identity from two very proud cultures.
 Growing the regional business revenue 100% to £1.2 billion and extending the firm’s product range.
 Maintaining and developing a customer focus, resisting the natural tendency of a merging business to
overly concentrate on internal issues.
 Initiating and leading both external and internal brand awareness campaigns.
 Leading a major office reorganisation and related cost reduction for the regions (£30 million over 3 years)
 Being awarded a CBE for services to Scottish business.
1998-2004: Head Industries Network (1998-2004); Member Global Industry Leadership Team (20002004)
During these years I combined a national role leading the firm’s Industry network with a global role, as part of
the worldwide Industry Leadership team. In addition to acting as global relationship manager for a number of
leading Scottish companies, I undertook assignments across Europe, Asia and in the USA.
Relying on my ability to influence and persuade by building relationships with international colleagues over
whom I had no direct authority, I:
 Led on the firm’s approach to middle market firms internationally, demonstrating the profitability of this
market segment thereby ensuring the firm did not overly rely on a small number of global corporate
accounts.
 Created greater cohesion and consistency between national and international strategies and approaches,
leading to a more coherent and profitable set of market and client development strategies.
 Gained significant experience in managing a wide and diverse, and sometimes competing, group of
stakeholders.
Coopers & Lybrand Career History
1995-1998: Scottish Managing Partner
During this time I took charge of market and client development strategies. Having been in charge of the
Glasgow Office I was asked in 1995 to lead all of the firm’s Scottish business. I also continued leading
major corporate turnarounds and insolvencies.
1984-1995: Partner in Charge, Scottish Recovery Practice; Managing Partner,
Glasgow Office (1992-95)
After being admitted to the partnership in 1984, I further developed my specialism in restructuring and
recovery, leading on many large UK insolvencies and administrations for clients as diverse as shipyards and
retail chains, construction companies and food producers. As an insolvency and turnaround practitioner I had
direct CEO responsibility for the trading operations of numerous companies for significant periods of time.
This helped me develop a tough commercial edge, direct operational responsibility and expertise.
Earlier Career
1974-1984: After joining Coopers & Lybrand from university I qualified in 1977 and worked in Glasgow,
London and Canada on company restructuring and recovery. In 1979 I led the evaluation of claims made by
businesses resulting from the evacuation of more than 200,000 people from Southern Ontario following a
major chemical accident.
Non-Executive Directorships
2012 - positions held as follows:
Optical Express, Board Member (£200m Optical Health Care Company)
Carduus, Chairman (Housing Development & Financial Business)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Campaign Board member
Prince’s Ambassador For Scotland, Scottish Business in the Community
2001-2007: Scottish Enterprise, Board Member
As a senior partner at PwC it is not permissible to take on corporate non-executive appointments, however
as I was well-respected in the Scottish public sector and in business I was encouraged to join the Board of
Scottish Enterprise, the country’s economic development body with a budget of £300 million. In particular, I:
 Persuaded the organisation to innovate its approach to funding private sector companies and major
investment projects helping create the internationally respected Co-investment Fund while Chairing the
Scottish Enterprise Investments Advisory Board.
 Used my professional expertise in restructuring to guide the Chair and Chief Executive successfully
through a major, and very public, budget crisis.
I have previously been a member of the Board of the following organisations:
CBI Scotland
Scottish Financial Enterprise
Scottish Council for Development and Industry
Hutchesons’ Grammar School (Governor)
University of Strathclyde Business School Advisory Board; and
Co-initiator and Supporter of The Entrepreneurial Exchange, Scotland's leading members' organisation for
ambitious, growth-orientated entrepreneurs
Chaired numerous judging panels (including Scotland FD of the Year Awards)
Education and Professional Qualifications
University of Strathclyde: BA in Business Administration
Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (CA)
INSEAD, Oxford University and London Business School Senior Executive Programmes
Awards
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Scottish business
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration, University of Strathclyde
Prince’s Ambassador for Scotland Scottish Business in the Community
3i Corporate Financier of the Year
Outstanding Achievement Award, Scottish Accountancy Awards
Business Insider Professional Adviser of the Year
University of Strathclyde Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
George and Thomas Hutcheson Distinguished Alumni Award, Hutcheson’s Grammar School
Appendix A
Transactional Experience Summary
As you would expect, my transaction experience over the last thirty years covers a wide range of industries
and sectors, from running formal insolvencies, corporate recovery and due diligence assignments and lead
corporate finance roles. I have acted for banks, private equity public companies, government and private
entrepreneurs. Transactions have mainly been mid market, ranging from £100m value to £1bn. I highlight
below some examples to provide some colour to this experience.
Corporate finance / due diligence

Sale of a £350m sports retailer to JJB plc

IBO of a division of Grampian Pharmaceuticals plc - £100m

Acquisition of a private hospital – HCI – £200m

Weir Group plc (FTSE100):
-
Disposal of non core portfolio various > £100m / Acquisition / TS support > £1bn

Disposal of a media public company’s subsidiary (confidential)

Oversaw PwC involvement Wood Group plc (FTSE100) / purchase of PSN > $1bn

Refinancing of a private major whisky company – Whyte & Mackay - £600m

Refinancing many property companies, eg Kenmore - £1bn / Sale of Kilmartin - £250m

Involvement with return of capital to shareholder for 2 plc’s – Stagecoach plc and Aggreko plc - £250m

Various transactions for Scottish entrepreneurs (eg Jim McColl’s Clyde Blowers Group) - values £100m
to £1bn
Corporate Recovery

Administration of property / construction groups Mountleigh Group / Cabra Estates (debt > £100m;
employees > 500; international operations in UK, NI and US)

Hinari – Electrical Goods Manufacturer / Distributor (UK / Germany / Hong Kong / Spain; debt > £550m)

Hall Russell Shipyard – (one of UK’s largest shipyards; employees > 1,000)

Golf courses / Ice Hockey arenas / Aberdeen Airways

Property companies – too many to mention – significant portfolios > £500m of assets