November 2 saw more than 500 students from Strathclyde Business School graduate at the University's Autumn graduation ceremonies at Barony Hall.
Professor Susan Hart, Dean of Strathclyde Business School, commented, "On behalf of the business school, I'd like to congratulate all our new graduates and wish them great success in the future."
Two prominent Strathclyde Business School graduates also returned to the University this week to receive honorary doctorates. Mark Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) and Archie Bethel CBE, Chief Executive of Babcock Marine, were recognised for their outstanding contributions to business and engineering.
Mark Hunter, originally from Bridge of Weir, graduated from Strathclyde with a degree in marketing and Business Administration in 1983. He has held a string of high profile positions, including leading the brand portfolio at Tennents Caledonian, where he was responsible for getting the red 'T' campaign up and running, and launching ventures including T in the Park.
After helping turn around the performance of the brand, he moved to Bass Brewer in England in 1996. There, he played a key leadership role in the 100% growth in Carling Lager in the UK, including the launch of Carling Extra Cold in the UK market.
He also led the establishment of Grolsch as a major premium lager in the UK and the launch of the Coors brand into the UK Mark Hunterin 2003. Mark's role expanded to included responsibility for export markets and business unit strategy when Bass Brewers was acquired by the Coors Brewing Company in 2002.
In May 2005, Mark transferred to Molson in Canada post the Molson/Coors merger, where he had responsibility for all sales and marketing activities across Canada as Chief Commercial Officer. In addition to this, he established the MCBC Marketing Council responsible for enterprise wide thinking on portfolio management, insight and innovation, emerging consumer communication models and marketing capability. In 2007, he returned to the UK to take up his current post.
In addition to his responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK), Mark was appointed President of ISBA - the Incorporate Society of British Advertisers - in January this year.
Archie Bethel graduated from Strathclyde's Department of Mechanical Engineering, and later became one of the first graduates of Strathclyde's distance learning MBA programme.
Since completing his first degree in 1975, he has worked in four sectors, rising to the top in each field. As a graduate engineer, he joined the oil industry with Vetco Gray in Aberdeen before travelling to Houston in a design engineer role. He joined the R&D section and became its Director before returning to the UK in 1985 as managing Director, UK Operations, at the age of 35.
In 1991, he joined the Scottish Enterprise Network and headed up a staff of 120, working with local companies and public sector agencies to regenerate the Lanarkshire economy in the post steel era. He was awarded an OBE in 1996.
Archie BethalHe later became Chief Operating Officer of Motherwell Bridge Group, with a staff of 4,000. He was responsible for the day-to-day running of the group and its major presence in the UK Power and Nuclear industries and worldwide in the Oil and Gas sector.
Today he is Chief Executive of Babcock Marine and is responsible for its financial and operational performance. It employs 10,000 people and has a turnover of around £1.2 billion, and is the largest provider of engineering services to the Royal Navy. Archie was made a CBE in 2008.
He has been Vice-President and Treasurer of the Institution of Mechanical engineering since 2001, and he was President of Scottish Engineering from 2003-2005. He has been a long term Industrial Advisor and invited lecturer at the University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, and introduced the BIG Academy in Babcock Marine in conjunction with Strathclyde Business School - an executive development programme which has been undertaken by more than 400 senior managers in four years.
Professor Jim McDonald, Principal of the University, said: "We are extremely pleased to welcome Mark Hunter and Archie Bethel back to Strathclyde. They have excelled in their areas of work and have made significant contributions to their respective fields.
"Their hard work, dedication and innovative ideas are an inspiration to our students and it is fitting that their achievements should be recognised by their University."
To view the SBS graduations click on the following links: