From SNP spin doctor at 22 to founding top Aberdeen communications firm
The first time Geoff Aberdein made the headlines, he wasn't advising First Ministers or CEOs – he was nine years old, standing in the smoking wreckage of his childhood home in Aberdeen, giving a statement to the Press and Journal after a freak electrical storm burned it to the ground.
'I remember the fire brigade told us not to talk to the media,' Geoff says. 'But someone needed to speak for the family, and I'd just lost my Sega Mega Drive. So, there I was, quoted in the paper as the 'family spokesperson'.
'Our house was obliterated,' Geoff recalls. 'We lost everything. Literally no possessions left. My dad gave my brother £1,000 and sent him out to buy clothes for the family.'
That early brush with crisis communication was just a warm-up for Geoff.
By any measure, Geoff's journey from class clown at Cults Academy to the corridors of power in Westminster and Holyrood – and later high finance – is extraordinary.
He went onto become head of press for the SNP at Westminster at 22, chief of staff to the First Minister Alex Salmond and then head of global of public affairs for UK financial heavyweight, Aberdeen Asset Management.
But the founder of strategic advisory firm True North isn't in the business of writing his own legend.
He says: 'One teacher described me as 'intellectually challenging', which was their polite way of saying I was a cheeky little blighter.'
It wasn't until his sister, already on the path to becoming a lawyer, intervened that he was even allowed to sit credit-level exams. 'She demanded they let me try,' Geoff says. 'And I passed. That changed everything.'
Geoff grew up between two very different worlds. His dad's side were passionate nationalists, while his mum's family were traditional Buchan farmers with more conservative views.
'Family get-togethers were… lively,' he says with a laugh. 'But the biggest thing I learned was to respect an opposing view.'
His interest in politics deepened during school, where he rallied classmates during mock elections and engaged in spirited debates about Scottish independence.
The late 1990s, with devolution on the horizon, provided the perfect backdrop for Geoff's burgeoning political aspirations.
This passion led him to study politics and international relations at Aberdeen University.
Then, a chance encounter with Alex Salmond at an airport further propelled his political journey.
Seeking a quote for his dissertation, Geoff struck up a conversation with Salmond, who, impressed by his initiative, offered him an unpaid position in his Peterhead constituency office.
Simultaneously, Geoff worked his way up from pot scrubber to waiter at Kippie Lodge, where he met Aberdeen billionaire Sir Ian Wood, who became a friend and mentor.
'Sir Ian and Lady Helen would come in every Friday night, and I would serve him an omelette and chips and tea and toast,' says Geoff. 'He is such an unassuming man, for all he has achieved, and so kind and generous.'
In a sliding doors moment, Geoff was all set to head to the US to join a New York Times graduate programme when Alex Salmond intervened.
'I told him about the job and he said, 'nah, you're coming to Westminster with me'. It just all happened at once, I graduated and a week later I found myself in London.
'I became the head of press for the SNP and I hadn't even written a press release.
'I didn't even have a pass for Westminster because it takes a while to come through.'
Geoff admits he was flying by the seat of his pants, but he learned from the best, with Salmond talking him through everything.
It was a tumultuous time in UK politics – marked by events like the Iraq War and the cash for honours scandal – and the SNP was grabbing a lot of headlines.
'Here's me, the head of press, walking the floors of Millbank where all the studios are and people saying can you get me Alex Salmond? Can you get me Angus MacNeil?
'Actually the job was easy, because the biggest challenge is to get profile, so we were punching way above our weight.'
Then Salmond invited him to be part of the leadership team for the next campaign in 2007, which they won and Geoff became chief of staff to the First Minister.
'We thought we were going to be there three months and we lasted the whole four years, and not just that, but in 2011, we got a majority, which was just overwhelming. I still can't believe we did it.
'I look back and think my biggest asset was the fact that I had nothing to compare it to,' says Geoff. 'There was no time to dwell. Every day brought a new challenge.
'I can't adequately explain how exhilarating it was, but tiring, I mean really exhausting as well.'
Despite his success in politics, Geoff felt a gap in his understanding of the economy. 'One of my biggest inadequacies throughout my time in government was I didn't know how this economy truly operated,' he admits.
'I was always nervous talking about economic issues because I hadn't experienced it, apart from being a waiter, and I had only known politics.'
This realization led him to a new opportunity: joining Aberdeen Asset Management, where he worked closely with CEO Martin Gilbert as global head of public affairs.
'I took the opportunity with both hands and had a fabulous seven years working with Martin,' says Geoff. 'He was the longest-serving chief executive in the FTSE 100, and I was basically getting to speak to this guy every day, which was amazing.
'Between Alex Salmond's political strategic mind and Martin Gilbert's business mind I learned a lot.'
The merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life prompted Geoff to consider his next move.
In 2022, he co-founded True North Advisors in Aberdeen with Fergus Mutch.
The firm, named after Geoff's late father's fish merchant business, offers strategic advisory services in public policy, communications, and business advocacy.
'I could tell there were challenges coming down the line for this city and region, and I'm just a small spoke in the wheel, but I want to do my bit,' says Geoff.
Now it is turning over £2 million a year with a 14-strong workforce of specialist advisers working in PR, communications and marketing.
'We are a business that supports clients in the north-east of Scotland, right through Scotland and London now, but the passion will always be for the betterment of this city and region,' he says.
'That's what motivates me in the morning, I want to see this city which has contributed so much to the UK's economic and energy security continue to do so.'
Outside of work, Geoff stays connected to politics through Holyrood Sources, a Scottish politics podcast he co-hosts with Calum McDonald and Andy Maciver.
'That podcast gives me my political fix and I love doing it,' he says. 'But what I love most is that it helps me understand people across the political spectrum, and that helps in business too.'
And when he's not leading campaigns or podcasting, Geoff enjoys heading to Pittodrie Stadium.
'My dad took me to my first Aberdeen match when I was nine. Now I sit in the same section we sat in, section B in the main stand. It's one of the few places I can just turn off.'
He's also a father himself now, to two-year-old Lucas. 'Raising a family with my fiance Kasia while building a business, it's a juggle. But it's the best thing I've done in my life.'
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