AS a schoolboy growing up in the Lothians, he dreamed of making it big in the United States.
Andrew Mooney told his mother he would go to America with his rock band and make a million, then come home to enjoy his riches.
At the age of 53, he is still playing his beloved rock guitar, and he has made it big stateside.
But his success is
down to Mickey Mouse – or more accurately, perhaps, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle and all those other "Disney Princesses" – rather than his well-practised guitar licks.
Today, he is in charge of Disney's "consumer products" – items such as the branded cuddly toys, pyjamas and video games beloved by children around the planet.
Make no mistake, Disney merchandise is not simply big business – it is truly massive. Around £55 million is spent every single day on official products bearing images of Mickey Mouse and his friends.
In charge of it all is Andrew, the son of a coal miner and factory worker, from Whitburn, West Lothian.
Disney's slogan "where dreams come true" takes on a whole new meaning when you see Andrew sunning himself at his home in the Hollywood hills or sitting behind his desk at the enterprise's global HQ in Los Angeles.
"I always had big dreams. I really wanted to be a rock star more than I wanted to be an accountant.
"I always aspired to lead things – it didn't matter if it was a local band or football team or a business venture," he adds, with a smile.
Ambitious and ultra-competitive Andy was already mapping out serious plans in his mind at the age of 16, when he decided to give college a swerve and start work as a trainee accountant.
"I was lucky to be good at school.
"I was really competitive both academically and in sports and that competitive element has stayed with me for life," says Andy, whose business card bears the title chairman of Disney Consumer Products Worldwide.
"The reason I skipped college was that my observation was that most people who ran organisations in the UK were from a financial background, so I started work early.
"At 25, most of my peers were just coming out of college but I had years of experience."
If Andy's upbringing in West Lothian left him with all the skills and drive to succeed, it also left its marks as well.
The young Andy travelled from his Whitburn home to go to Catholic schools, St Joseph's primary in Armadale and St Mary's Academy in Bathgate.
Andy admits to having been beaten up by bigoted bullies, but today he is reluctant to open old wounds. Instead, he insists that modern Scotland is a very different place compared to the place he grew up in, when it was divided along sectarian lines.
"I was a Catholic boy who went to Catholic school," he says simply.
"I think now it is much less of an issue for kids than it was then."
Quietly spoken, Andy is a million miles away from the cliched image of the pushy, smooth-talking US marketing man.
The only other thing he is reluctant to get into is any clues to the level of his clearly substantial salary.
"I never went into it to make money, but that was a happy offshoot," he says, the passion that has propelled him to his current position shining through.
Nevertheless, being head-hunted by one of the world's biggest brands has clearly offered Andy, his Philippine-American wife Vizhier and their two-year-old daughter Rose, a lifestyle a world apart from his modest upbringing in West Lothian.
His late father, Paul, worked in the mines before moving to the British Leyland plant that had opened in Bathgate, while his mother, Esther, worked with Levi Jeans at its factory in Whitburn for more than 20 years.
The family are still close, with Andy regularly returning home to Whitburn to visit Esther, 75, and her going out to LA for three weeks each year.
His mother was particularly proud to see him collect an honorary degree from Queen Margaret University in Musselburgh on his last visit home earlier this month.
"I was proud of him. He was a good scholar and his dad and I wanted him to go to college, but you can't force anybody," she says. "He got himself a job and that was it. I was sorry to see him go all the way to America though – I would prefer him to be in Edinburgh."
Andy worked for Nike for 20 years, finishing up as their worldwide head of marketing, based in Portland, Oregon.
Then, Disney came calling – he was head-hunted by them in 2000.
Andy is quick to point out his working life is not all glamour.
In fact, there was plenty of distinctly unglamorous graft on the journey to where he is now, including plenty after assuming the impressive position of chief financial officer for Nike's UK operation at the age of just 25.
"Being CFO meant unloading containers of shoes. It wasn't a glamorous job."
It was the switch from accounting to marketing, made two years later, that was his making, followed by a move to the global head office in Portland, Oregon, in 1984.
Under Andy's management, Disney Consumer Products' business has grown from $13 billion a year to $30bn a year.
One crucial early decision was to introduce the Disney Princess brand – one under which everything from old favourites like Snow White to new ones like Princess Maddy, from The Frog Princess is now sold.
"The view of some in the company was that it might destroy the individuality of the storytelling," he recalls, in a voice which now bears a distinct American twang.
"Some people felt that would be damaging to the brand but my team was given the choice and now Princess is worth $4bn."
Among its fans is two-year-old Rose, who would "wear her Minnie Mouse outfit every day of the week, if I let her," says Andy.
She recently made her first trip to Scotland and it was a visit which left her Dad with food for thought.
He is confident the country is in good shape to get through the latest economic downturn if it makes the most of the opportunities available.
"Scotland is a hotbed of creative talent, for example in video gaming.
"I think there is a lot more opportunity than Scotland is taking advantage of," he says.
"The good news is multi-national companies will see Scotland as a good place to invest, but it is equally easy for them to take the money out of Scotland.
"These are going to be interesting and challenging times for both Scotland and the US."
He adds: "In some ways I appreciate Scotland more having moved away.
"When I come back it seems exotic and European and I didn't feel that way when I left.
"I think you take it for granted when you live here."
The full article contains 1180 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
