Linda Miles, Scottish Development International
What started as a 12-month holiday in Australia has turned into a 30-year stay for Linda Miles, who grew up in the UK and arrived in WA after touring through South East Asia.
Now the senior trade specialist with Scottish Development International, Linda’s business life in WA started when she and her husband founded a tour company specialising in the backpacker and international student market.
They ran bus tours from Broome to Albany, expanding the business to run seven buses and employ 20 staff before selling to a competitor.
Linda later worked as a researcher for the UK Trade and Investment, based at the British Consulate, where she looked for opportunities and connections in Perth for small and medium UK oil and gas companies.
Various roles followed within the consulate before she made the switch to Scottish Development International.
“Scottish Development International is the specialist trade, capital investment and inward investment arm of Scotland’s economic development agency Scottish Enterprise,” Linda said.
“Our mission is to support more Scottish companies to think, trade and compete globally, and attract quality investment into Scotland.”
She focuses primarily on “promoting Scotland’s energy sector capabilities in Australia”, identifying trade opportunities for Scottish companies involved in offshore wind, green hydrogen, decommissioning and ocean energy projects.
He role took her to Scotland last year: “Standing on a boat looking at the Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm up close was a highlight.
“In recent years I got an enormous amount of satisfaction from making meaningful introductions between companies in Scotland and Australia, often discussing complex technical challenges and how they might collaborate.”
Those experiences, and the achievement of starting, growing, and selling a successful small business – while also raising three children – gave her immense satisfaction.
“I’ve challenged myself by doing more public speaking at conferences, sharing Scotland's offshore wind story and how they are developing the supply chain for the enormous pipeline of work to come over the coming decades,” Linda said.
She is motivated and energised by the versatility of her role and the scope of work.
This is emphasised by working with “inspirational and highly skilled people every day”, learning from and being inspired by their creativity.
She has been a member of the Energy Club for two years but has attended events since 2010, citing the network opportunities and hearing from a range of passionate experts, particularly in energy transition and groundbreaking projects as among the benefits.
Outside work, Linda enjoys watching the British football league and long walks in nature with her dog. She loves to travel and see new places which show her the “real parts” of a country.
With her commitment to her job, to the energy transition, to international collaboration, and to overcoming challenges Linda Miles has demonstrated her resilience and passion over the past 30 years.