Donaldson Group

Alyson joins the Group from leading global veterinary care provider, IVC Evidensia, where she was UK & ROI Chief Financial Officer. Here she was responsible for the UK-wide finance operations for the billion-pound business, with a focus on transformation and performance improvement. A chartered accountant, Alyson started her career at KPMG LLP on their graduate training programme. She graduated from Stirling University with a first-class degree in accounting and economics, and in 2020 she completed a post-graduate course in Leadership, Strategy and Innovation with Napier University.

Alyson is the first female Donaldson family member to join the Group in an executive role, in its 163-year history.

As well as being CEO of Donaldson Interiors, Gerry Watson has also been the Managing Director of Kitchens International for the last 28 years, which he co-founded in 1994 along with Paul O’Brien.

After the acquisition of KI by the Donaldson Group in June 2021 and the creation of the interiors division, Gerry took on the role of CEO of this division in February 2022.

Gerry started his working career with a Timber importing and sawmilling business (and so he feels he has now gone full circle!) After working in that business for 4 years, he was then given the opportunity to run an existing retail kitchen showroom and develop them into the contract market which is how he was introduced to the kitchen business. He then moved onto to Magnet as branch manager for one of the largest branches in the UK, and a few years later co-founded KI.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his partner, kids and grandkids, as well as playing the odd game of golf, cycling and walking.

Rod is the Managing Director of Donaldson Timber Systems, formerly know as Stewart Milne Timber Systems, having joined in November 2017 before the business joined the Donaldson Group in December 2021.

Rod brings with him a wealth of experience both domestically and internationally. Most recently, he was an Executive Director with Havelock Europa Plc, the interiors, furniture manufacturer and contractor. Rod also spent 15 years as a board director of Metsawood UK Ltd including 7 years as Managing Director. He has worked internationally with both Havelock and Metsa and with spells at Scottish and Newcastle Breweries and as a consultant with Quattro Consult in Edinburgh.

During his time at Metsawood, Rod served on the board of the Centre for Timber Engineering and Edinburgh Napier University and whilst at Havelock, he was active within the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

Graham is the CEO of the Retail & Distribution division within Donaldson Group and brings with him excellent experience optimising multiple customer channels for globally-recognised brands.

Prior to joining Donaldson Group in 2022, he spent 18 months with ASDA where he was senior director of omnichannel customer support, running a large UK and international operation alongside delivering a technology and cultural transformation programme to provide an innovative customer experience for millions of customers, across multiple channels.

He also spent a decade at Hutchison 3G UK (Three), where he was most recently head of omnichannel, responsible for the creation, deployment, and delivery of a strategy to provide best-in-class customer experience across online, app, retail, contact centres, and indirect channels.

Graham is responsible for leading the Retail & Distribution division of the business, which includes MGM Timber, James Donaldson Insulation, Nu-Style Products, Perform Panel and Plane & Simple.

He is a self-proclaimed tech enthusiast with a particular interest in how technology can provide innovative ways to transform the customer experience and drive commercial value.

When he’s not working, Graham enjoys spending time with family and friends including spending time on the side-lines of his son’s various sports games. He also enjoys watching football, playing golf, snowboarding and travelling.

Paula is the Chief People Officer of Donaldson Group having recently joined the group in December 2023. Paula brings with her a wealth of experience to the role. She joins from National Oilwell Varco where she worked in a number of senior HR roles, including most recently as Senior Director, Global Talent Acquisition. Paula also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resources Management (CIPD) With Distinction from Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University. 

Alex is the CEO of Donaldson Offsite, bringing with him 38 years of experience in House Building and Timber Frame Manufacturing.

Becoming CEO of Donaldson Offsite in January 2022, his role is to develop and grow the businesses that sit within the Donaldson Offsite (DO) division, as well as use his wider industry experience to support the use of timber in the growth of the Offsite market in the house building and construction industries.

Prior to joining Donaldson Group as part of Donaldson Timber Systems in December 2021, Alex had spent 23 years as part of Stewart Milne Group, occupying various roles including Technical Director, Managing Director for Stewart Milne Timber Systems (SMTS) and Managing Director of Stewart Milne Homes, before joining Stewart Milne Group main board as Group Managing Director for SMTS in 2011.

Alex is the current Chair of Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI) since 2021 and previous Chair and current board member of Structural Timber Association (STA).

In his free time, he is a keen golfer and enjoys spending time with his wife of 32 years, Linsay and his two grown up kids, Anna and Liam.

Before Joining the Donaldson Group, Les spent 18 Years managing and transforming IT organisations in the FMCG world. Most recently 8 years with Devro food casings, as IT director bringing together 4 separate IT organisations in to one group wide function and overhauling the IT applications landscape including an ERP roll out. Before this he spent 10 years in Procter & Gamble in various IT management roles culminating in managing IT for the Central Europe, Middle East & Africa Baby Care business. Outside of work, Les is a director of a homeless charity, enjoys running 10K’s and half marathons to keep fit and spending time with his young family.

Steve joined Nu-Style Products in November 2018 as Commercial Director and became Managing Director in April 2019. Before joining the business, he worked for a multi-national distributor to the building industry for 20 years, starting as Internal Sales before enjoying his time in External Sales. In 2008 he moved into operational positions finishing with multi-site responsibility across the north of Scotland.

Away from work Steve likes to spend time with his young family! However, when time allows he likes to run (well jog!) to keep the weight off but, his real passion is for golf, which he recently returned to after several years in “semi-retirement” due to family commitments.

Iain is the Managing Director of James Donaldson Timber and has been working in the timber trade since the day of his 18th birthday back in 1984. His role is to develop the corporate strategy for JDT and ensure the organisational structure, health and safety procedures and finances are there to support it. Continuing his trend of making career decisions on big birthdays he started as MD of JDT on his 40th birthday in May 2006, and has therefore been with us for over 10 years. His professional accomplishments extend beyond the Donaldson Group, as he is currently President of the Scottish Timber Trade Association and past Chairman of the National Softwood Division of the TTF. And it seems work projects aren’t enough for Iain, as he’s currently working on a two storey extension to his house and a four car garage!

Luke has been with DTE since October 2007 and Business Development Director since 2017. With over 20 years of experience in the Timber industry and a strong emphasis on developing people, Luke was the natural choice to become DTE’s new Managing Director. Luke and his young family enjoy spending weekends walking in the Shropshire Hills close to their home. Luke and his wife also enjoy cooking for friends and family, it’s not uncommon to have 20 round for Sunday lunch!