business executive Sustainability consultant
Brian Whitters was born in July 1958 and is from Blantyre, Scotland. His professional life took him extensively across Europe, North America, and Asia, including extended periods in China, Thailand, Korea, and Hong Kong. After a long career involving international travel and executive responsibility, he and his wife settled on the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides.
Whitters graduated from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester. Following his executive career, he studied Gaelic through the University of the Highlands and Islands, completing a Bachelor of Arts programme through the university's satellite campus on Barra.
Whitters developed an international career in manufacturing, supply-chain management, sustainability, and ethical compliance. He worked in China, Thailand, Korea, Hong Kong, Europe, and the United States, and had been involved in international supply chains and sustainability projects since 1994. Before joining SGS, he served as managing director of a sustainability consulting organization in Scotland and as managing director of a life-cycle-assessment provider in France. His work included building corporate social-responsibility and auditing programmes for major retail and manufacturing organizations, and developing alternative approaches to social compliance based on root-cause analysis, remediation, and capacity building. By 2010 he was Director of Supply Chain Solutions at Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services UK, where he was responsible for supply-chain services including social compliance and sustainability. He subsequently became Deputy Vice President of Global Sustainability Services at SGS Consumer Testing Services in the United States, overseeing sustainability services that included auditing, carbon-footprinting, and life-cycle assessment. After being diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer in 2015 and successfully treated, he retired from international executive work. Following his move to Barra, he worked as a chef in a local hotel and as a mental-health support worker, while also volunteering for Prostate Cancer UK and undertaking Gaelic studies.
Built corporate social-responsibility and ethical-auditing programmes in Europe and Asia for major retail and manufacturing organizations.
Contributed to the development of alternative social-compliance approaches using root-cause analysis, remediation, and capacity building.
Helped advance corporate sustainability services involving social-compliance auditing, carbon-footprinting, and life-cycle assessment.
Used his experience of early-stage prostate-cancer diagnosis and successful treatment to support public awareness and early-diagnosis advocacy.
(Conference contribution by Brian Whitters on supply-chain...)
2012Whitters has expressed professional values centered on integrity, transparency, ethical behaviour, and creating practical benefits for clients, employees, the public, and the environment.
Whitters has volunteered with Prostate Cancer UK, contributing to public awareness of prostate-cancer symptoms and the importance of early diagnosis.
Whitters has publicly described a strong commitment to integrity, transparency, and ethical behaviour in professional work. In accounts of his retirement and life on Barra, he has emphasized contentment, family life, volunteering, and community contribution.
Quotes from others about the person
Whitters has described his diagnosis and treatment as prompting a major change in priorities, leading him to retire from international executive work and settle on Barra. He has encouraged men to consult their general practitioners about persistent symptoms and to discuss prostate-cancer awareness with family members.
Brian Whitters is married to Joan. The couple settled on the Isle of Barra after visiting the island and subsequently made it their permanent home. Their move followed his retirement from a high-travel international executive career and marked a transition toward community work, Gaelic study, and island life.
