Richard is an academically and professionally trained manager with 25 years experience in international manufacturing and project management and experience of company set up. He has been involved in diverse operations including capital projects, the repair and overhaul of complex (Rolls Royce) jet engines for military and civil use as well as medium volume vehicle production. He has undertaken many personal initiatives to improve business effectiveness, requiring strong analytical skills and a variety of facilitation and management techniques in unionised and non-unionised environments. Mr Cooper received his engineering degree from Strathclyde University in Glasgow in 1979. He set up Scotland’s first Medical Device sterilisation company and subsequently ran his own consultancy company. In his consulting role he helped companies with organisation development, acted as a production manager and carried out equipment engineering work in the production of optical crystals in the photonics industry. He sits on the Scottish board of the Bio Industry Association and is a Director and Vice Chairman of Medical Devices in Scotland.
