Former Volvo chief says individualism is holding Scotland back
"Rather than inspire new thinking, we have to some extent romanticised this," he told the Creating the Jobs of Tomorrow conference in Glasgow. "The constant recycling of these great achievements risks being akin to having a picture of Bonnie Prince Charlie on the side of a biscuit tin.
"It is now time for the next chapter in Scottish innovation to be written," he added, noting that the means are available to develop a highly-skilled workforce that will dictate which countries fare best economically in the years to come.
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'We need to educate young people not just in the technical tools and the business skills of tomorrow, but the basic building blocks of how to work effectively together to build a culture of shared prosperity," he said.
"Individualism, digital nomads, scrolling as a form of entertainment [and] working from home has all torn the fabric in the cultural collaboration, and we need to amend this.'
Originally a mechanical engineering apprentice at Tate & Lyle in Glasgow, Mr Rowan switched into the technology sector when he joined Digital Equipment Corporation in Ayr in 1986. He went on to hold chief operating officer roles at both BlackBerry and Dyson, and was chief executive of Dyson from 2017 to 2020.
Despite all the current geopolitical turbulence and uncertainty, he said it remains his firm belief that "fantastic opportunities" lie ahead for companies and countries that find ways to invest in the key talents and technologies of the future.
'The combination of high computational silicon, artificial intelligence, low latency cloud connectivity and energy security will provide the foundations to accelerate growth and prosperity we have never seen before," Mr Rowan said. "I would go as far as to say that what happens in the next five years will define the industrial and the military landscape for the next 25 years.'
Mr Rowan added that this constitutes a "potent cocktail" designed to Scotland's advantage that can enable a "new wave of prosperity for our country".
'To bring this vision alive, we need to be able to get our young talent to embrace these opportunities and engage in the journey, a journey that can create something long-lasting and future-proof for the next generation," he said, but added: "Many of our young people today are out of practice with what it takes to be successful on the global stage."
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