The Team
John Russell / Managing Director
Son of the founder of the original business which sold both coal and timber, John has developed Russwood into a specialised hardwood products company. John has twenty years' experience in the industry and is highly knowledgeable, not only on the huge variety of timber available on the market, but also on the characteristics and technical competences applicable to each.
Sandy Neilson / Chairman
Sandy retired after 36 years in Banking and Financial Services and became non executive Chairman of Russwood on 1st April 2006. Strategy and Planning are key to long term business success and Sandy works with John and other members of the management team on a number of strategic and tactical projects. A keen golfer, Sandy splits his time between Glasgow and Newtonmore.
Paul-John Mackintosh / Operations
PJ, as he is best known, is a joiner to trade. This at one level, understates his breadth of knowledge of the hardwood timber industry, but at another it illustrates his value when discussing the whole range of Russwood products and services with customers. A stickler for quality and efficiency, especially with Russwood's suppliers, there is not much that PJ doesn't know about the market.
Lorna Crombie / Accounts & Administration
Lorna has been with Russwood for over sixteen years. She manages the Accounts and Administration team at Station Sawmill and keeps the office running smoothly.
Alaister Jeffrey / Cladding & Decking
Alaister is a trained engineer, and Russwood's I.T. expert. Alaister joined the company in 2000 and works closely with PJ and John Smith on the cladding side of the business.
Glen Tonkin / Flooring
Glen was raised in Newtonmore but left to study in Dundee. He then travelled and worked overseas for two years, before working in London as a Project Manager for MCI Worldcom. More recently he returned to Newtonmore to run his family business. He joined Russwood’s sales team to head up the flooring division.
John Smith / Timber Sales
John has worked in Sales for thirty years, and joined the Russwood Timber Sales team in 2007. He is a native of Grantown, and like many others in the Russwood team, is a keen golfer and football supporter.
Kirsteen Collie / Haulage & Logistics
Kirsteen is a core member of Russwood's highly efficient office team. She is responsible for the logistics of our haulage operation (that is, making sure our customers get the goods on time!)
Vicky Dakers / Finance
Vicky is responsible for invoicing and credit control, a particularly important role given Russwood's growth ambitions and requirement for rigorous financial management throughout the operation.
Annette Harrigan / Administration
Annette is the newest member of the admin team and has settled in quickly and proved invaluable, assisting with all aspects of the day to day running of our busy office. Annette will usually be your first point of contact when telephoning and has full responsibility for the online shop.
Iona Malcolm / Marketing
Iona works on promoting Russwood to the wider world. She is responsible for the website, shows, advertising, press releases and other marketing tasks. She also co-ordinates Russwood’s CPD seminar programme, where architects and other interested parties can arrange to see John Russell’s presentation on external timber cladding.
John MacRae / Delivers the Goods
'Big MacRae' as he is affectionately known drives all over Scotland and Northern England delivering tons of Russwood timber every year to building sites, homes and offices. A keen photographer, John has compiled a fascinating portfolio of customer projects, from schools and sports clubs to halls and sitting-rooms.
Sarah Cheyne / Flooring
Sarah is originally from Edinburgh, but spent her teenage years in Newtonmore. She has travelled and worked abroad for a number of years, in Australia and New Zealand, and returned to Newtonmore and joined Russwood's fast-growing team
Eva Oden / Flooring
Eva is the newest member of Russwood's flooring team. Eva hails from Sweden, where she worked for fourteen years for a wooden furniture manufacturer. She has now brought her expertise in timber and eye for quality to Newtonmore, and will also be working from our new outlet in Inverness.