Alistair Findlater marks a new chapter after 50 years of Tycom.
When Denis Law hung up his boots in 1974, Tycom didn't yet exist.
Denis had just completed one of the most remarkable careers in Scottish football, representing Scotland at the 1974 World Cup before announcing his retirement later that summer.
Two years later, in 1976, another story was beginning back home in Aberdeen.
Tyseal Ltd, short for Typewriter Services and Equipment Aberdeen Ltd., a long-established company supplying and servicing office equipment, saw that as computers began to transform the workplace, they should be involved, Tyseal established a dedicated computer division, Tyseal Computers Limited. They knew nothing about computers, so they hired Alistair Findlater and Brian West to run it for them.
That division would eventually become Tycom Limited.
Fifty years later, Tycom has grown from those beginnings into a Scottish technology company providing managed IT, cyber security, cloud and software development services from oices in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Fife.
And the stories of Denis Law and Tycom would eventually cross paths through one man: Alistair Findlater.
Following the retirement of Tyseal founder D.J. Williams in 1992, Alistair and Brian acquired the computer division and continued the development of Tycom.
Years later, Alistair would become a co-founder of the Denis Law Legacy Trust, helping to turn the name and achievements of one of Aberdeen's greatest sporting sons into something designed to create opportunities for generations of young people. Tycom is the registered office of the Legacy Trust and a fellow director of Tycom, Isobel Corsar, is also a Trustee and is the Treasurer of the Legacy Trust.
Now, in Tycom's 50th anniversary year, Alistair has been thinking about legacy in another part of his life.
Tycom has become 100% employee owned, with ownership transferred to an Employee Ownership Trust to protect the company's independence and provide a long-term future for the business, and its community.
Tycom ‘s existing Directors Isobel Corsar and Duncan Cameron will be carrying on their roles at Tycom.
For Alistair, there is a connection between the two journeys.
“Denis had finished playing before Tycom's story had even started, but what he went on to achieve after football shows that legacy isn't really about when something ends. It's about what continues afterwards and the opportunities you create for other people.
“That's something I've seen first-hand through the Denis Law Legacy Trust, and I suppose I've reached a similar point with Tycom.
“Tycom has been a huge part of my life. When it came to deciding what was right for the future of the company, I wanted it to remain independent, continue looking after its customers and recognise the people who have helped make it successful.
“Employee ownership gives us the opportunity to do that. The people at Tycom know the business, care about it and many have been part of its story for a long time. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built, but I'm equally excited about what they can build from here.”
The Denis Law Legacy Trust was founded in 2011 and has grown to provide free-to access sport and positive activities for young people across Aberdeen, ensuring Denis's influence continues far beyond his achievements on the football pitch.
Tycom's transition to employee ownership is a very different kind of story, but it shares a familiar principle.
After 50 years, the company remains independent, Alistair remains involved in a consultancy role, and the people who helped build Tycom will now have an even greater connection to its future.
Two very different Aberdeen stories, beginning at different times and in very different worlds.
But perhaps with something important in common: the real measure of what you build is what continues after you.