www.globalgolfpost.com
JULY 16, 2012
Anthony Powell’s novel Books Do Furnish
a Room has come to suggest a type of
person. If they have or work in a book-filled
study, the impression is created of a literary, studious type. You can make a similar
judgment from observing a man who has
golf clubs and bags, some still unwrapped,
in his office, namely that he is a golf enthusiast. The more so when he picks up a club
and wiggles it while musing: I wonder what
sort of shaft they have put in here?
Meet Martin Gilbert of Aberdeen Asset
Management, a fund management group
that was established in that Scottish city
nearly 30 years ago and is now a top-100
company listed on the FTSE (Financial
Times Stock Exchange). Gilbert, 57, is a
man with an endearing giggle, a gravelly
voice and a bearish frame that suggests
he could manoeuvre a hockey ball well (he
did) and hit a golf ball a long way (he does,
though not often).
“Martin Gilbert is a very considerable
good egg,” Ken Schofield, the former ex-
ecutive director of the European Tour and
Golf Channel analyst, said. “He is as tough
as old boots, obviously very successful, and
you want someone like that batting for you
rather than against you, don’t you?”
Aberdeen Asset Management, a spon-
sor of the Scottish Open, are much smaller
than Barclays, who had sponsored the
Scottish Open from 2001 to 2011, BMW,
who puts millions into the PGA Champion-
ship at Wentworth each year, and HSBC,
the bank that seems intent upon identifying
themselves with almost every important
rugby and golf event in Europe, the Middle
or Far East. But Gilbert is creating waves
in golf because his firm is increasing their
financial investment and involvement in
amateur and professional golf, for men
and women, at a time when so many other
firms are reducing theirs or withdrawing
altogether.
in Philadelphia, site of their US headquarters. They put a sum that is nearer five-figures than six into Scottish amateur golf.
“We fly them to South Africa; Johann
Rupert looks after them when they’re
there,” Martin said. “It has transformed the
Scottish team. They have started winning.
Johann said to me: ‘Martin, it is fantastic.
It has taught our amateurs they are not
as good as they thought they were so they
have to up their game or else they are not
going to be able to compete.’ ”
AAM’s total annual sponsorship spend
is less than £ 3 million, surprisingly small.
That is for all its sponsorship, not just the
Scottish Open.
“Even so, it has to be justified. You have
to consider investment very carefully and
we have to consider what we get for our
money,” Gilbert said. “I have no problem
telling my shareholders we’re getting good
value for our sponsorship because we are
building our name awareness.
“Our name awareness lags far behind
our size and status. There are two big guys
in the independent asset management
business in the UK. There’s us and there’s
Schroders. Everyone has heard of Schroders; nobody has heard of Aberdeen even
though we’re almost the same size.
“I hope we can do a really good job with
the Scottish Open,” Gilbert continued. “It
should be played on a links course. I would
like to see it become a must-play event.”
In this he is not alone. The Open cham-
pionship of a country as associated with
golf as Scotland should be just that, a
must-play, must-win event. l
