| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gareth Robert Kirkwood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 April 1963 Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Left-arm medium-fast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Cricinfo,3 November 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gareth Robert Kirkwood OBE (born 15 April 1963) is a Scottish business executive and former cricketer.
Kirkwood was born at Kilmarnock in April 1963. He was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School,before matriculating to the University of Strathclyde. [1] A club cricketer for Poloc in his youth,he made a single appearance for Scotland against Worcestershire at Glasgow in the 1986 Benson &Hedges Cup. [2] In a match which their English county opponents won by 2 wickets,Kirkwood scored a single unbeaten run and bowled one wicketless over. [3]
Kirkwood began his business career with British Airways (BA) in 1986,working in various roles within the information technology department until 1990,when he left to join Speedwing as a commercial manager. [1] This coincided with him studying for his MBA at Lancaster University. [4] He returned to BA in 1992,becoming the general manager for global purchasing at the airline. In 1994,he moved to US Airways,becoming the vice-president of purchasing,later becoming Managing Director of Brymon Airways in 1996. [1] In April 2000,he returned to BA to take up the position of Managing Director of British Airways World Cargo,prior to becoming BA's Director of Operations in 2006. [4] Following the chaotic opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 in March 2008,Kirkwood and Director of Customer Services,David Noyes,were sacked. [5] After departing BA,Kirkwood left the airline industry and began working for Expedia,leading their European transformation for their holiday property rental division. In 2017,he joined The AA as Managing Director, [4] during which he was made an OBE in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to road transport. [6] Kirkwood departed The AA in January 2022 to become CEO at The Nurture Landscapes Group. [4]
Kirkwood lives in South Oxfordshire with his wife and two children. [7]