He received the honour during a ceremony at Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall.

On top of his day job with Lindsays, he is also chair of UK Athletics, the sport’s governing body in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Prior to that, he served as chair of scottishathletics for nine years.

In that role, he was credited with playing a major part in the growth of participation in athletics across Scotland, recognised with an MBE in 2020. Speaking about his honorary doctorate, which also celebrated his vast involvement in grassroots sport as a competitor, coach and former race director of the West Highland Way Race, he said: “It’s lovely to be recognised in this way.

“These sorts of things come out of the blue and are just a nice surprise. I am really grateful to Glasgow Caledonian University for this honour.

“What’s really nice is that it’s not just about the higher profile roles I have had, but my involvement in the grassroots side, including coaching endurance groups and being involved in a number of clubs and committees. To have someone recognise the range of that means a lot.”

He said: “So much is about strong relationships. I’ve always been a big believer in that. 

“At Lindsays we have strong teams who work together. I encourage that in sport too. It’s about getting really good people and giving them an environment where they can flourish, enjoy work, do their best and give them the chance to develop.

“One of the things I’ve learned in my business career is to treat people the way you would like to be treated - be honest, direct, do not shy away from things, give credit where people do a good job and give support where it’s needed.

“My principles of trying to get the best out of the people you work with who, in turn, then work well with others very much comes from the business world.”

Nina Taylor, chair of Lindsays, said: “Everyone at the firm is delighted for Ian and this well-deserved recognition. As a business, we encourage our team to support their communities and causes close to their hearts. Ian really leads by example on that.”