Laurence Heron

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At the moment

I’m currently living in a small cottage, in a small village by the sea near to my home town in South West Scotland. It’s a beautiful rural area and was perfect during lockdown! This is a very exciting time for me. After an executive business career spanning the globe I am being reunited with Edinburgh, moving there as a business consultant.

Your time at the University

A country boy eager to experience the world, I couldn’t wait to leave my small town for university and city life and it didn’t disappoint! I was drawn to Edinburgh by its classical beauty and to the University by its reputation and history. I always loved animals and plants so biology was a natural choice. I lived in Pollock Halls for two years, which was a great and supportive way to ease into independent life. Later life in shared accommodation holds lasting memories and friendships enduring to this day. I can’t claim to have been the most dedicated student but managed to exit with a degree which helped me launch into my medical industry career.

Your experiences since leaving the University

Struggling to find a job in Scotland, I visited a friend in London for the weekend and ended up working in London for 7 years! Developing a strong interest in marketing, I moved into the medical devices sector in sales, since the pharma/medtech industry is a natural choice if you have a biology degree. I was very fortunate to start with a company with an excellent graduate training component and advanced up the ranks before deciding it was “now or never” to travel the world, not having taken a year out before university. I backpacked around Eastern Europe to Australia and had a wonderful experience. I ended up staying in Australia for 25 years, having two now grown up children and taking Australian citizenship. I continued my career in senior management before starting my own successful business.

Latterly I moved to Boston, USA for a few years as senior executive in a medical imaging company of which I am also co-founder. I returned to the UK with my Australian wife Kathryn just before the pandemic hit and am now, full circle, back in Edinburgh as a Business Management Consultant for small to medium sized enterprises. I’m really looking forward to life there and using my experience and knowledge to help SME clients add value for their businesses.

Alumni wisdom

I’d recommend forming a good idea of what you’d like to do before you go to university. Follow your heart as much as your head. What do you like and what makes you feel good?

Taking a year out before going to university may have given me a better idea of where I wanted to go after graduating. I went through university with absolutely no idea what I wanted to do afterwards, which made it more difficult to apply myself to studies.

Related links

Biological Sciences at Edinburgh