“After a rewarding career and attending the ‘School of Hard Knocks’, I want to help others by giving something back”

 

Andy Spinks

Andy Spinks

Non-Executive Director

Key Skills

Diplomacy | Caring management/Leadership | Global experience

Qualifications, Professional Bodies, and Associations

  • Royal College of Defence Studies

  • Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society

  • Member of the Institute of Directors (awarded Certificate of Company Direction)

Experience

  • As Director Defence Fuels Group, Andy and his team successfully and safely procured, stored and distributed worldwide all non-nuclear fuels used by the UK military. This included setting international standards such as DefStan 91-91 for jet fuel.

  • Andy was a Director on the OPA Board for 4 years. He was the Secretary of State’s representative to ensure the safe and efficient management of the Government Pipeline and Storage System (GPSS, now run by Exolum).

  • A Business Development Director and Bid Manager. During his time with the company, Andy also managed bid teams which won contracts for the MOD’s deployable fuels infrastructure and, separately, military aircraft ground support on deployed operations.

Career Summary

Andy served in the RAF for 37 years, culminating in 3 appointments as an Air Commodore (Brigadier General).  His final posting was Director of Defence Fuels Group, which procured, stored and distributed worldwide the various fuels used by the 3 Services.

After the RAF, Andy joined KBR as a Business Development Director before moving to UAE with the Al-Futtaim Group, where he ran a defence contract in Afghanistan before being promoted to head their company in Qatar.

Andy has lived and worked in Canada, Nepal, Norway, Oman, Qatar and UAE, and has had operational deployments in the Falklands, Iraq, Kosovo and Saudi Arabia.

Hobbies and Interests

“I am a trustee of a charity (the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum) in Norfolk, an unpaid voluntary role.  I also help two limited companies on a consultancy basis and have been a mentor for people leaving the Forces.  Any spare time is spent in the garden (mainly cutting grass) or playing golf poorly.”