Adam Scott appointed OBE for public and voluntary service in the New Year Honours List 2009

More than forty years of service in the voluntary and public sectors have been recognised in Adam Scott's appointment an Officer in the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of distinguished public service. Adam became a Fellow of the then St Andrews Management Institute in 1994 and soon became a keen though honorary teacher in Management, developing and delivering three Honours modules in Management (1995-2005). The University encouraged him to become an accredited teacher (ILTM now FHEA) and to register as a PhD student, as such he is now completing minor corrections. (Update: Adam's doctorate was awarded in 2010.)

Public Service

In a multi-disciplinary professional career, Adam's public service has included soldiering, where work on technical trials helped him to become a chartered electrical engineer. He received an earlier honour (TD) whilst commanding Britain's reserve meteorologists. In parallel, he was the first intellectual property lawyer in the British Post Office. As British Telecommunications was established and later privatised, Adam served as its then chairman, Sir George Jefferson's, corporate planner, going on to head Iain Vallance's office, to lead BT's international affairs and, before arriving in St Andrews, chairing BT's apparatus business as well as the Government/Industry Group of the Strategic Planning Society.

Adam currently serves as a member of the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) which is based in Bloomsbury Square. Alongside St Andrews colleague Peter Grinyer (retired Vice Principal), he hears cases in competition and communications law, chairing the Tribunal's training, representing the CAT in European meetings and applying his professional training as a barrister, chartered electrical engineer and in micro-economics.

Voluntary Service

Adam's voluntary service has included a variety of church and other charitable roles that include: youth club and community relations work in Lambeth starting back in 1967; parish ministry since 1970 including ten years as an Area Dean; many years as a trustee of the British Telecom Benevolent Fund and now his engagement with the House & Chapel of St Barnabas in Soho housed in two of London's Grade 1 buildings and working with homeless and vulnerable people. His role with St Barnabas has found Adam appearing before a House of Lords select committee, liaising with those building Crossrail, and providing a welcome to London's Macedonian community.

He married into a St Andrews family in 1978. Oona's father, Professor RJD Graham, was Dean of Science at St Andrews until his death in 1950 and her mother was then Warden of University Hall. Oona was educated in St Andrews, at St Katharine's School, at St Leonard's School and then passed her 2nd MB in the University. She graduated PhD from UCL and she is now an emeritus professor of neuro-physiology.

Adam said, 'I am happy to receive the honour and to acknowledge all those who have encouraged and enabled my contribution with their own contributions. I am grateful to those who have worked with me over the past forty years - I do believe that this honour recognises the value of work that we have done together.'