There are lots of jobs and investment in Scotland dependent on our membership of the E.U. single market.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
American companies based in Scotland employ large numbers of people - in fact, we are the best performing part of the U.K., outside London and the southeast of England when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment.
One of the attractive things about being in Scotland is that we have a very good pipeline of new people coming into the company from the excellent universities around us.
I'll be arguing for Scotland to vote to stay in the E.U.
Scotland forms a crucial part of our Armed Forces which should not be jeopardised by rushed cuts or a rush to the exit from the U.K. Defence jobs are vital to the Scottish economy and yet independence puts thousands of jobs at risk.
Because Scotland and Northern Ireland want to remain part of the E.U., there is the quite real possibility that Scotland and even Northern Ireland might now choose to go their own way on membership within the E.U. and the 'United Kingdom' would suddenly effectively be only England and Wales.
An independent Scotland - like all countries - will face challenges, and we will have our ups and downs. But the decisions about how we use our wealth will be ours.
Every country is going to have to face up to globalisation, but Scotland has got a unique capacity because of its history as part of a multinational state to help us deal with that problem.
I strongly suspect that there would be a positive economic advantage to the U.K. in leaving the single market.
My message is a simple one - the E.U. is not perfect, but Scotland's interests are best served by being a member.
It is hard to overstate the economic importance of the U.S.A. to Scotland, and that makes it essential that we engage with companies and potential investors and get the message across that we are open for business.