The energy sector depends on the finest equipment to move forward, and the team at Motive Offshore Group work tirelessly to ensure that they have access to all they need. Under the leadership of David Acton, named CEO of the Year, 2021 – Aberdeen, the United Kingdom in CEO Monthly’s CEO of the Year awards, the firm have thrived. We look at the firm’s incredible success to see how he’s done it.
David Acton couldn’t have known where Motive would go when he co-founded the firm over 11 years ago. In that time, he has overseen extraordinary expansion for the firm, but always with an eye to providing quality equipment using the skills of local people. While based in Aberdeen, Mr. Acton has driven his team to take on projects all over the world.
When the firm was first conceived, the core values of People, Product, Performance guided every decision. Motive quickly grew into a provider of solutions, specialising in the design, manufacture, rental and inspection of marine and lifting equipment. Businesses around the world not only turn to the Motive team for support, but depend on them to ensure that their projects run as smoothly as possible. Now, as times have changed and priorities have shifted, the core values of the business have been updated to be People, Planet, Product.
This transformation of values can most easily be seen in the projects that the team has undertaken over the years. The team have thrived through the production of multi-sector solutions, first working in the oil and gas industry but now carving out a vital path into the sustainable energy sector. This incredible diversification reflects the way in which the team not only put the client first at all times, but that they now have the reach to offer a tailored solution to clients.
This growth is a credit to Mr. Acton’s strategic prowess and his vision which has been essential to the growth of Motive. Where once a team of four made every product, this has grown to a team of over 200, with five global bases in the UK, Norway, the UAE, America and Taiwan. High performance is at the heart of everything that the team does, and they have become renowned for their ability to develop and deliver sustainable products and services to clients.
Generally, these clients take the form of Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation contractors who know the quality of what the team deliver. In any industry, it helps to maintain longstanding relationships and the energy sector is no exception. Over many years, the firm has been able to match the needs of their clients, in some cases beginning to anticipate their needs. This is especially true of the shift away from oil and gas towards more sustainable methods of energy production and the team’s close ties to its clients has made easing this transition much more straightforward.
No matter how long the team has known the client, the Motive team work closely with clients from the tendering process all the way through to the completion of a project. The way in which the firm acts not simply as a supplier, but as a partner has been key to the development of the company into an internationally respected business. With an incredibly wide offering now available to clients, covering Rental, Manufacturing, Inspection and maintenance across the firm’s regions, it’s little wonder that the team have been able to achieve so much in such short order.
Of course, this incredible achievement is thanks in no small part to the hard work of Mr. Acton and his talented team. Having helped to found the company, Mr. Acton has had to grow alongside it, matching his own specific skills to the needs of the company on a day by day basis. One of the keys to this has been ensuring that his professional development has grown more quickly than the business itself so that he can always push it forward to the next stage with confidence and determination.
Forutnately, this has been achieved through the observation of other leaders as well as mentoring from successful names in business from whom he can learn. Learning is one of Mr. Acton’s passions and he loves exploring topics that he knows nothing about. Without daily challenges, he tells us, he thinks that life becomes complacent and that leads to others not doing their jobs properly. Certainly, it would be hard to credit the team at Motive with any concept of complacency!
Before establishing Motive, Mr. Acton had a great deal of experience working in the offshore drilling industry, giving him a unique perspective on what the sector required and how best to meet their needs. This insider’s perspective was vital to the development of the business model that has seen Motive grow to such success. It also opened Mr. Acton’s eyes to a variety of leadership methods and company cultures, which he has brought to Motive. One of the clearest lessons that came from this work was the realisation that there is no textbook leader and the best way to lead is by reacting to what happens as it happens.
Motive had made a name for itself as an industry leader, offering clients energy industry exceptionalism thanks to a highly skilled team and a range of sustainable, multisector solutions. This reputation, however, has only been achieved thanks to the tireless work of Mr. Acton, who has dedicated himself to the development not only of his business, but of himself so that he can continue to lead it successfully to even greater heights!
