Gareth Robert Kirkwood (born 15 April 1963) is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

business executive and former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. Kirkwood was born at

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

in April 1963. He was educated at

Hutchesons' Grammar School Hutchesons' Grammar School is a private, co-educational day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School by George Hutcheson and Thomas Hutcheson in 1641, making it the 19th oldest scho ...

, before matriculating to the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

. A

club cricket Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obse ...

er for Poloc in his youth, he made a single appearance for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in the

1986 Benson & Hedges Cup The 1986 Benson & Hedges Cup was the fifteenth edition of cricket's Benson & Hedges Cup. The competition was won by Middlesex County Cricket Club. Fixtures and results Group stage Group A Group B Group C Group D Quarter-finals ...

. In a match which their English county opponents won by 2 wickets, Kirkwood scored a single unbeaten run and bowled one wicketless

over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England * Over, Cheshire, England **Over Bridge * Over, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England * Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Ov ...

. Kirkwood began his business career with

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

(BA) in 1986, working in various roles within the information technology department until 1990, when he left to join Speedwing as a commercial manager. This coincided with him studying for his

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

. He returned to BA in 1992, becoming the general manager for global purchasing at the airline. In 1994, he moved to

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

, becoming the vice-president of purchasing, later becoming Managing Director of

Brymon Airways Brymon Airways was a British airline with its head office in the Brymon House on the property of Plymouth City Airport in Plymouth, Devon."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. 24–30 March 199961 "Brymon House, Plymouth City Ai ...

in 1996. In April 2000, he returned to BA to take up the position of Managing Director of

British Airways World Cargo British Airways World Cargo, formerly British Airways Cargo, was a division of IAG Cargo, operating air cargo services under the British Airways brand. It was the twelfth-largest cargo airline in the world by total freight tonne-kilometres flow ...

, prior to becoming BA's Director of Operations in 2006. Following the chaotic opening of

Heathrow Terminal 5 Heathrow Terminal 5 is an airport terminal at Heathrow Airport, the main airport serving London. Opened in 2008, the main building in the complex is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. Until 2012, the terminal was used ...

in March 2008, Kirkwood and Director of Customer Services, David Noyes, were sacked. After departing BA, Kirkwood left the airline industry and began working for

Expedia Expedia Inc. is an online travel agency owned by Expedia Group, based in Seattle. The website and mobile app can be used to book airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruise ships, and vacation packages. Expedia.com was launched on ...

, leading their European transformation for their holiday property rental division. In 2017, he joined

The AA AA Limited, trading as The AA, is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, Driver's education, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The association Demut ...

as Managing Director, during which he was made an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to road transport. Kirkwood departed The AA in January 2022 to become

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

at The Nurture Landscapes Group. Kirkwood lives in

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a p ...

with his wife and two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkwood, Gareth 1963 births Living people Sportspeople from Kilmarnock People educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Scottish cricketers British Airways people Alumni of Lancaster University US Airways Group Scottish chief executives Expedia Group people The Automobile Association Officers of the Order of the British Empire