Jamie Oag
{{Short description|Scottish entrepreneur (born 1966)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2014}}
James George Oag is a Scottish business entrepreneur.
Education
Oag was born in West Lothian in March 1966.{{r|RGU}}{{r|Companies}} 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.{{r|RGU}}
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.{{r|RGU}} Later that year Oag took delivery of a Bugatti Veyron. The £810,000 vehicle was purchased as an investment{{r|Bugatti}} but sold a few years later as Oag said "it wasn't helpful when meeting clients."{{r|Marriage}} 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.{{r|business}}{{r|Enterprise}}
In mid 2010, Oag purchased a £1 million share of SPEX, another Aberdeen company, which had been founded in 2009.{{r|Telfer}} Oag retained a shareholding in SPEX and assumed the role of Chief Executive of the company in January 2014.{{r|Ranscombe}}
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.{{r|Davidson}}
Re-development of ideas gleaned from out of date patents has served Oag as an inspiration for innovative designs such as remote controls for domestic fire alarms.{{r|Irvine}}
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.{{r|Marriage}}
References
Citations
{{reflist|30em|refs=
{{cite web |title=Jamie Oag Appointed CEO of SPEX Group |url=http://www.aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk/people-news/item/1060-jamie-oag-appointed-ceo-of-spex-group |publisher=Aberdeen Business News |access-date=4 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527225305/http://www.aberdeenbusinessnews.co.uk/people-news/item/1060-jamie-oag-appointed-ceo-of-spex-group |archive-date=27 May 2013 |url-status=live }}
{{cite web |title=James George Oag |url=http://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/director/2734801/james-oag |publisher=Companies in the UK |access-date=4 March 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140304132511/http://www.companiesintheuk.co.uk/director/2734801/james-oag |archive-date=4 March 2014 |url-status=live }}
{{cite news|title=A new £800k Bugatti |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-184672377.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409090303/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-184672377.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 April 2016 |access-date=3 March 2014 |newspaper=Daily Record (Scotland)|date=10 September 2008 }}
{{cite news|last=Irvine |first=Mark |title=Bristling with some big ideas |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-18777583.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412220035/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-18777583.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 April 2016 |access-date=3 March 2014 |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=21 February 2001|via=HighBeam}}
{{cite news |title=Millionaire former mechanic to wed stunning 21-year-old Russian bride |access-date=3 March 2014 |newspaper=Daily Record |date=28 October 2012 |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/real-life/millionaire-former-mechanic-to-wed-stunning-1403859 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115031854/http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/real-life/millionaire-former-mechanic-to-wed-stunning-1403859 |archive-date=15 November 2013 |url-status=live }}
{{cite news|last=Ranscombe |first=Peter |title=Optima founder Jamie Oag to take helm at Spex |url=http://www.scotsman.com/business/management/optima-founder-jamie-oag-to-take-helm-at-spex-1-2762106 |access-date=3 March 2014 |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=28 January 2014 }}
{{cite news|last=Davidson |first=Ross |title=US company snaps up Optima for 'at least £40m' |url=http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2679933 |access-date=3 March 2014 |newspaper=The Press and Journal (Scotland) |date=13 March 2012 }}
{{cite news|last=Telfer |first=David |title=Aberdeen businessman invests £1m in explosives expert |url=http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1784838 |access-date=3 March 2014 |newspaper=The Press and Journal (Scotland) |date=16 June 2010 }}
{{cite web |title=Jamie Oag honoured |url=https://www.rgu.ac.uk/news/jamie-oag-honoured-by-robert-gordon-university |publisher=Robert Gordon University |access-date=3 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024742/https://www.rgu.ac.uk/news/jamie-oag-honoured-by-robert-gordon-university |archive-date=4 March 2016 |date=14 July 2009 |url-status=live }}
}}
External links
- {{LinkedIn URL|https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-oag-503839}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oag, Jamie}}
Category:People from West Lothian
Category:People educated at Armadale Academy
Category:Alumni of Robert Gordon University
Category:Scottish company founders