Raymond O’Hare
Independent Non Executive Advisor/Director
An experienced leader and independent non executive director/advisor. A strategic thinker with a pragmatic outlook and broad business leadership experience; with a successful track record at corporate, SME and start-up levels.
Currently working with a number of ambitious and growing organisations at board level, advising on all areas relating to growth, including, sales and marketing strategies, investment, acquisitions, partnerships and exits. Providing coaching at CEO and Executive level, as well as for emerging leaders within these companies.
Previous to this he was director of Microsoft in Scotland for five and a half years until 2010, and was Chairman of the Institute of Directors in Scotland for four years until December 2011. He spent twelve and a half years working for the Microsoft Corporation in a variety of UK wide and Scotland focused roles, also spending considerable periods of time at Microsoft’s US headquarters near Seattle, working with many of the company’s product groups, R&D and industry teams, as well as with many of the corporation’s senior executives.
He was also responsible for Bill Gates’ only official visit to Scotland in 2007 and for bringing Microsoft’s European Government Leaders Forum to Edinburgh, despite fierce competition from Athens, Berlin and other European cities
In a career which started at RBS in 1976, O’Hare has also worked in Government, and in a number of UK, European and US based companies. (ICL, Nixdorf and Digital Equipment Corp) in both Ireland and the UK.
In addition to these roles, he has held, and continues to hold a number of high profile board positions in Scotland including, Chairman of the Institute of Directors, Board member of the SQA and Young Scot, Non Executive Director of the Government’s Post 16 Education Reform Board, member of the government’s National Economic Forum and Skills Utilisation Leadership Group. For many years he also served on the board of Scotland IS, the trade body for the technology industry in Scotland.
He has been a regular contributor to press and media over the last 15 years and speaks regularly at conferences and events on the topics of practical leadership, technology trends and the importance of innovation in business and government.
He has a passion for music, football, golf and travel, and has been married for 37 years to Elizabeth and has 2 children (David and Lauren).