Gareth Robert Kirkwood (born 15 April 1963) is a Scottish business executive and former

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er. Kirkwood was born at

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

in April 1963. He was educated at

Hutchesons' Grammar School Hutchesons' Grammar School is a co-educational independent 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 It is a selective school, m ...

, before matriculating to the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) 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 chart ...

. 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 obs ...

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

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

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, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...

. Kirkwood began his business career with

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

(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; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

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

. 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 (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...

, becoming the vice-president of purchasing, later becoming managing director of

Brymon Airways Brymon Airways is a British former 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 Cit ...

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. Terminal 5 is currently used exclusi ...

in March 2008, Kirkwood, alongside director of customer services, David Noyes, were sacked. After departing BA, Kirkwood branched out from the airline industry and began working for

Expedia Expedia Inc. is an online travel agency owned by Expedia Group, an American online travel shopping company based in Seattle. The website and mobile app can be used to book airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruise ships, and vacat ...

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

The AA AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. Th ...

as managing director, during which he was made an OBE 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 central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

at The Nurture Landscapes Group. Kirkwood lives in

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The a ...

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