Back in 2021, Graeme Cameron joined our team as Chief Executive Officer, on the back of a large transition for Pennine Healthcare.
Early 2021 brought the handing over of ownership of the company to our workforce to help guarantee our long-term future in Derby. After operating in Derby for more than 60 years, we joined the growing band of forward-looking companies by setting up as an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). The trust, which represents interest of our almost 200 employees, gained 100% of shares.
Graeme’s leadership beliefs firmly aligns with our values on people, culture, and community and he is passionate that when employees are vested in the success of the company, they become not just workers, but stakeholders in its mission.
Our EOT model has brought about a culture of collaboration, innovation, and shared success. Graeme’s leadership style, characterised by transparency and open communication, has fostered a sense of ownership and accountability among our colleagues. This shift in organisational structure has not only boosted morale but has also resulted in increased productivity and a heightened commitment to quality.
Graeme boasts a wealth of Scottish Heritage, and in aid of Burns Night celebrations, we spoke to him about his experience of this celebration and the importance of remembering Robert Burns,
Burns Night, 25th January, is the night us Scots celebrate the birthday of Robert Burns, our national poet. We enjoy haggis, neeps, and tatties, recite his poems, and warm ourselves with a dram or two!
Burns wrote many famous poems, including, “To a Mouse,” “Address to the Haggis,” and “Tam O’Shanter.”
But Burns’s most famous anthem is probably “Auld Lang Syne” (translated as ‘the good old days’), one of the most transported songs around the world, from the USA and Canada to Japan and Mexico. It has been featured in Sex and the City, Forrest Gump, and many more movies and was even sung on Christmas Day, the Truce Day during World War 1. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the song is in the top 3 most popular songs in the English language.
What I love most about “Auld Lang Syne” is that it unites individuals into one group by crossing arms and embracing song and energy. In China, it is known as a song of friendship and translates into ‘Friendship, Forever, and Ever.’
I will celebrate Burns Night in 2024 with a group of friends from different parts of the UK and the world, and we will raise a glass to Rabbie Burns, ‘The Bard,’ and enjoy his wonderful impact on the world.
It feels like the world could do with some uniting, so please join us in celebrating the legacy that he left.
“Life is but a day at most” – so let’s enjoy every minute of it.
Graeme Cameron, Pennine CEO
For everyone that will be celebrating, we wish all a wonderful evening spent with family and friends.
