At MDL, we believe that successful companies are built on dedicated people who lead by example.
Our Leadership Team is the driving force for innovation, expertise and commitment across the business, steering the company towards new horizons and success in the energy industry.
Meet the visionary leaders who bring passion, experience and a shared commitment to excellence to every aspect of our operations.
Derek Smith - CEO and Founder
Since founding MDL in 1999, he has been developing and engraining the company’s mission, vision and core values. From the docks of Peterhead, where he began his career as a marine service technician, to heading an energy solutions business with a global reach - Derek has an extensive background in the maritime industry and knows every facet of the business: from detailed design, engineering, manufacturing and growth business management.
Passionate about being the best place to work and delivering the best customer experience, Derek’s main focus is to fuel the innovative drive across all aspects of the business, maintain high QHSE principles and ensure adherence to governmental, regulatory and ethical standards befitting a global business.
Despite the exponential growth of the company, Derek is committed to MDL’s roots in the North-east of Scotland and ensuring the business continues to give back to the local communities – be it through apprenticeship opportunities or charitable initiatives.
Andrew Blaquiere - Managing Director
Andrew is a mechanical engineer by trade and brings extensive knowledge on risers, moorings and flex-lay operations from a detailed engineering and project management perspective. Over the course of his career, Andrew moved from his engineering roots into various sales and commercial management positions in Houston, Texas and in 2020 he relocated to Aberdeen, UK to assume the role as Managing Director.
He works closely with the CEO and Operations Director and oversees the company’s operations while giving strategic guidance and driving the growth of MDL in alignment with the company’s growth strategy.
George Mackintosh - Operations Director
George has been overseeing successful project delivery since becoming an MDL Director in 2012. He came “from the back deck”, having started his career as a field service technician, before applying his experience in an operations manager role in the back-deck equipment business.
George’s extensive track record covers all stages of a project’s lifecycle: from design and engineering, to manufacturing and process optimisation, to building innovation – a wealth of hands-on expertise, paramount to building MDL's market-leading fleet.
To this day, he consistently shares his accumulated knowledge, delivers innovation to customers’ operations and pushes the boundaries of how MDL equipment continues to set the “best-in-class” standard across the rental and newbuild markets.
Brian Meldrum - Chairman
For 60 years, Brian has been involved in growing businesses from the inside, finding opportunity where others only saw risk. Having stared his career as a service technician in the scrap metal industry, he progressed through the ranks until acquiring John Lawrie Metals in the 1980s. He continued expanding the business to new locations in the UK and overseas until he sold it in late 2010s, having grown it from £200k to c.£90m turnover and establishing it in the top 10 UK pipe/scrap metal companies.
Brian’s track record of other successfully sold businesses includes Drill Gear, Oil Tube and Xodus. Only two weeks after concluding the sale of JLM, he was on the search of his next venture – “unable to sit still”. Today, he manages a range of properties across Scotland including supermarkets, office blocks, industrial units and hotels.
In his role of Non-executive Chairman in MDL, he supports the Board with his business acumen acquired through lifelong management of global operations – together with his unquestionable wit.