James George Oag is a Scottish business entrepreneur.

Education

Oag was born in West Lothian in March 1966.[1][2] He attended Armadale Academy then served an apprenticeship as a mechanic before attending Inverness College to study mechanical engineering. Further qualifications were achieved at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and he gained a Master of Science degree in Instrument Analytical Science from the School of Applied Sciences in 1992.[1]

Career

After completing his education, Oag spent seven years working as a Field Engineer with Halliburton, leaving the firm to found his own company, Optima Solutions in 1999. By February 2008 Optima had a staff of more than fifty employees and a 55 per cent share of the company was sold to Northern Industries for an eight figure sum.[1] Later that year Oag took delivery of a Bugatti Veyron. The £810,000 vehicle was purchased as an investment[3] but sold a few years later as Oag said "it wasn't helpful when meeting clients."[4] Oag has gained several industry awards and Optima Solutions was awarded the Queen's Awards for Enterprise in 2009 in the category for International Trade.[5][6]

In mid 2010, Oag purchased a £1 million share of SPEX, another Aberdeen company, which had been founded in 2009.[7] Oag retained a shareholding in SPEX and assumed the role of Chief Executive of the company in January 2014.[8]

Optima was purchased by the American company Tetra Technologies in March 2012 for over £40 million. At that time Oag had a 42.3 per cent stake in the company.[9]

Re-development of ideas gleaned from out of date patents has served Oag as an inspiration for innovative designs such as remote controls for domestic fire alarms.[10]

Personal life

Dunecht House, a Category A listed building in Aberdeenshire, was purchased from Charles Anthony Pearson at the end of 2012 for £1.2 million. Oag married Yulia Sarycheva, a Russian business student, in a ceremony at the mansion's chapel during November 2012.[4]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Jamie Oag honoured". Robert Gordon University. 14 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "James George Oag". Companies in the UK. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "A new £800k Bugatti". Daily Record (Scotland). 10 September 2008. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Millionaire former mechanic to wed stunning 21-year-old Russian bride". Daily Record. 28 October 2012. Archived from the original on 15 November 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Jamie Oag Appointed CEO of SPEX Group". Aberdeen Business News. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Award results". Queen's Award for Enterprise magazine. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Telfer, David (16 June 2010). "Aberdeen businessman invests £1m in explosives expert". The Press and Journal (Scotland). Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Ranscombe, Peter (28 January 2014). "Optima founder Jamie Oag to take helm at Spex". The Scotsman. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Davidson, Ross (13 March 2012). "US company snaps up Optima for 'at least £40m'". The Press and Journal (Scotland). Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Irvine, Mark (21 February 2001). "Bristling with some big ideas". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2014 – via HighBeam.


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