TTH: A Wee Dram Episode 4 - Guest: Gillian Docherty
The Third Half: Unretirement, Identity & What Comes Next
Three jocks on a Friday afternoon. What could possibly go wrong?
That was my genuine warning at the top of this one — and I meant it. Gillian Docherty is Chief Commercial Officer at the University of Strathclyde, Chair of CodeBase, and former CEO of The Data Lab. But what really drew me to this conversation is the story underneath all of that. Twenty-two years at IBM. A recruiter who refused to hang up the phone. A CV written over a weekend for the first time in two decades. And a decision — no package, a four-year-old at home — to walk away and build something from scratch.
Gillian is brilliantly honest. She’ll tell you exactly where Scotland’s innovation ecosystem punches above its weight, and exactly where it still wobbles. She’s got the most grounded take on AI I’ve heard in a long time — real value exists, but it’s quiet and narrow, and too many organisations are using it to paper over bad data and bad habits. That’s not transformation. That’s expensive wallpaper.
The quick-fire round was, as always, the best bit. Scottish cheddar. Two hops from a government minister to a CEO. And the reminder that Scotland’s biggest business myth is thinking we’re not good enough.
We absolutely are.
👉 Watch the full conversation above or listen below
https://player.captivate.fm/episode/3861083e-bc01-4a67-9b60-a24d88097a06/
Missed our last episode? Trevor Hatton spent 30-plus years at Accenture and EY and now helps senior executives navigate life after the corporate chapter. A really moving one. Watch and listen here: https://www.thethirdhalf.uk/p/tth-a-wee-dram-episode-3-guest-trevor
Scott & Steve
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