Gary McEwan, Chief Executive of Enterprise North East Trust (Enterprise) has been appointed regional chairman for Grampian by The Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT). As regional chairman for PSYBT in Grampian, Gary will chair funding panels and interview young people who are looking for support from PSYBT to start their own businesses. He will also manage the 50 PSYBT volunteers and provide support and advice for the team in the Grampian area. Gary will also speak at events and serve as an ambassador for the work of PSYBT.

PSYBT supports young people who are looking to start or expand their business by providing advice, training and funding. In the last financial year, PS YBT has supported 653 individuals throughout Scotland to start up their own business, 37 of which were in the Grampian region.

Commenting on his appointment, Gary McEwan says, “Being appointed as chairman for Grampian is a huge honour for me as without the help of PSYBT, I wouldn’t be where I am today. In 1992, they gave me the funding I needed to start my business and I have remained close to the organisation ever since.

“As someone who left school with no formal qualifications, I was determined to succeed in business and the support, both financially and strategically, that I received from PSYBT was crucial to reaching my business goals. The organisation played a pivotal role in my entrepreneurial achievements and it is a huge privilege to join PSYBT and be able to help other young entrepreneurs. I’m looking forward to my new role as chair man where I will be co-ordinating and supporting the fantastic network of PSYBT volunteers in the Grampian area. I will also be involved in interviewing young entrepreneurs, who like me all those years ago, are looking for funding to help launch their business dreams.”

Mark Strudwick CBE, chief executive of PSYBT said, "We are delighted to welcome Gary to this pivotal role at PSYBT Grampian.  His support to entrepreneurs and encouragement of young people over the years has been outstanding. Our volunteer network is critical to our success and we are very lucky to have someone of Gary’s calibre on board.”

Gary has been chief executive of Enterprise since 2008, prior to this he held a non-executive director position with the organisation. He has an exceptionally impressive tra ck record in business development across Scotland, having frequently worked alongside lead organisations such as Scottish Enterprise.

At Enterprise he is responsible for 65 staff across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Tayside. Enterprise delivers Business Gateway services to support the start up and growth of businesses in these areas. Despite leaving school with no formal qualifications, Gary became UK entrepreneur of the year when he was just 26 and his experiences and commitment to developing young entrepreneurial talent led to him establish Enterprise’s Business Challenge Initiative last year. The project gives teenagers from Grampian and Tayside the chance to take part in a series of challenges to develop their entrepreneurial flair.

For further information visit www.enetrust.com or call 01224 289700. PSYBT can be contacted on 0141 248 4999 or visit www.psybt.org.uk