Alan is a founding director of Russell Gibson and is a CFP^CM Chartered MCSI, Chartered Wealth Manager, which is internationally viewed as a benchmark for quality financial planning. Alan established Russell Gibson, along with his fellow director Tom Hyslop, to allow him to provide a level of service to clients that he felt was lacking in other financial services firms.

A graduate in Law from the University of Glasgow, Alan also gained his Diploma in Legal Practice and worked for two medium-sized law firms in Central Scotland, specialising in private client work including conveyancing, wills, trusts, investments and the winding up of estates. He specialises in advising clients and writing comprehensive financial plans for clients by establishing their goals and aspirations and tailoring financial strategies to suit.

Tom is a founding director of Russell Gibson and is a CFP^CM Chartered MCSI, Chartered Wealth Manager, which is internationally viewed as a benchmark for quality financial planning. Tom established Russell Gibson, along with his fellow director, Alan Ball.

Following graduation in Business Studies, Tom cut his teeth in the financial world and gained invaluable experience within the Corporate Office of Bank of Scotland in their Manchester Office.

Tom has been working in the role of independent advisor, providing a bespoke financial planning service since 2001. The experience he has built up over the years is supplemented by the financial acumen he developed whilst in the world of corporate finance and is ideally suited to advising clients on all aspects of financial planning.

After graduating with an honours degree in Business Studies, Katherine worked for a large investment, pension & insurance provider in Edinburgh. Starting off in intermediary sales, she went on to specialise in service development, process improvement and multi-channel relationship management.

Having taken some time away from the industry and a career break, Katherine returned to Financial Services in 2015.  Since then, she has completed several professional qualifications, including the CII Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (DipPFS) and the CII Level 6 Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning (APFS). She was also awarded Chartered Financial Planner status by the Chartered Insurance Institute in 2020.

Katherine is responsible for the day to day operations of the company and works closely with the other directors and financial planners, to move the company forward. She focuses primarily in the areas of business improvement, strategy, risk control, resource & logistics, finance and marketing. She also leads and manages our client service team and has direct oversight of the employee development programme.

Outside work, Katherine can be found spending time on creative writing, cooking, travelling and socialising with her family & friends.

Emma joined Russell Gibson in April 2011 as a mortgage consultant.

Having worked at a large UK bank, a firm of local solicitors and latterly a local financial planning firm, Emma has over 15 years experience in the financial services industry and is a CFP^CM Chartered MCSI, Chartered Wealth Manager, an international benchmark for quality financial planning.

Emma is also a qualified Pension Transfer Specialist.

As a CFP^CM Chartered MCSI, Chartered Wealth Manager, which is internationally viewed as a benchmark for quality financial planning, Rory enjoys building long term relationships with clients and becoming their trusted adviser. Rory has also achieved Chartered Financial Planner status, via the Chartered Insurance Institute.

His role is to advise clients in all aspects of financial planning, helping them to articulate their goals and working together towards achieving these over time. This allows clients to then focus on what is important to them, such as spending time with their family or running their business.

He always says if he can make it an enjoyable experience for clients along the way, then so much the better!

Rory also heads up our Investment Committee.

Susan joined Russell Gibson in 2013 as an Administration Assistant. This was a complete career change as she had previously worked as a Primary School teacher for fifteen years. She is enjoying the challenge of learning new skills, whilst at the same time utilising the organisational and management skills she acquired in teaching, in a new environment.

She has young twin boys and spends her spare time organising them, the dog and her husband.

After spending close to ten years working for one of the UK’s largest Wrap platforms down in London, Grant was keen to return to his roots in the North East of Scotland and was very happy to take on a new role with Russell Gibson towards the end of 2015.

Having previously worked for Aberdeen Unit Trust Managers, after having graduated from University, he has an extensive knowledge of the Financial Services industry and all aspects of client servicing.

Grant holds the CII Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and also leads and manages one of our client service teams. He spends any spare time on the cliffs of Stonehaven Golf Club and in the seats of Pittodrie, watching AFC.

Amanda joined Russell Gibson in September 2019 and has a decade of experience in the Financial Services industry. She holds the CII Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (DipPFS) and is currently working towards further exams.

Her role is to provide technical paraplanning support to the financial planners, attend client meetings and provide training and support to members of the paraplanning and administration teams. Amanda also leads and manages one of our client service teams.

When not working, she enjoys baking, travelling and socialising with friends and family.

Carly joined Russell Gibson in November 2014 after completing a degree in Business Economics at the University of Glasgow and a Masters in Investment & Finance at the University of Strathclyde.

Since joining the company, Carly has completed her CII Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (DipPFS) and also holds the Pension Transfer Specialist Level 6 qualification, via the Chartered Insurance Institute. Her present role involves assisting the financial planners with their workloads, but one day she would like to take on the financial planner role herself.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading and hill walking.

Ian joined Russell Gibson in 2020, with 12 years of experience in Financial Services. Ian holds the CII Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning (DipPFS) and his role entails supporting the financial planners by providing lasting solutions for clients, attending client meetings and assisting the planners with their workloads.

Laura has a degree in Actuarial and Financial Science and joined Russell Gibson in 2019, after completing her Masters in Finance with Distinction from the University of Dundee.

Laura’s present role involves assisting the financial planners with their workloads and she is also working towards her CII Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. Laura is also involved in collating research for our Investment Committee.

Outside work, Laura likes going to the gym on a daily basis, spending time with family and friends and travelling every time she has the opportunity.

Wendy joined Russell Gibson in 2019, having worked in the Financial Services Industry for 29 years. Most of this time was for a large UK Bank as a Relationship Manager in Private Banking. She enjoys meeting and building long lasting relationships with clients.

When she is not working, Wendy enjoys walking the family dog and travelling, taking the opportunity to explore new cities.

Heidi joined Russell Gibson in June 2022 from a local branch of a national chain of Financial Advisors, having joined the industry in 2017.

Having worked in a variety of sectors over the years Heidi has held roles in business development and stakeholder engagement, people and project management, and client servicing.  She has developed strong administrative skills and has a wealth of client care experience, which will serve her well in her role at Russell Gibson, assisting the financial planners with their workloads.

Heidi holds the industry standard certificate in Ethics and Regulations and looks forward to working towards further qualifications in the future.

Outside her working life, Heidi enjoys exploring the beautiful countryside and tasting the fantastic food Aberdeenshire has to offer, cooking, and socialising with her family and friends.

Grace is studying for a Masters Degree in Anthropology at Aberdeen University and joined us as a summer placement student, earlier this year, to assist with the team’s workload over the summer.

Grace has proved herself to be so useful, adaptable and conscientious that we decided to retain her, on a part time basis, as she continues her studies. So, she now works in our office every Wednesday.

Grace’s interests outside work include: music and going to gigs, socialising with her university chums and adding to her ever-expanding cookery repertoire.