Stuart was brought up in Dundee and attended the Morgan Academy. During his time at school, he was the boys’ school captain, captain of rugby, secretary of the literary and debating society, captain of athletics, and church organist and choirmaster. The son of a pharmacist, he attended the Heriot-Watt School of Pharmacy where he met his future wife, Judy, whose pharmacy practice has been in hospital, community and editorial pharmacy roles. While still a student, Stuart was commissioned as a Territorial Army officer into the Black Watch. He undertook his pre-registration training in a pharmacy in Penicuik, near Edinburgh, and registered as a pharmacist in 1964.
He moved to London and joined first Duncan Flockhart and then Allen and Hanbury, working as a medical representative for both companies. He later became a senior hospital representative for GSK. Following a period in GSK business development, he joined RP Scherer as a sales executive and, by the 1980s, was made managing director for the UK company. In 1987, he was appointed regional president of Europe for the Scherer Corporation, the first UK director ever to hold such a senior executive position within the Scherer Corporation’s international activities. He had responsibilities for manufacturing plants in Germany, France and Italy, while retaining overall responsibility for UK operations in Swindon.
He was made a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1987. In 1989, he joined International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) and served as the president of their Fragrance division from 1998 until 2001.
After retiring from IFF he held several directorships. He was made executive chairman of Biocompatibles Hydron, chief executive officer of Lipoxen and, in 2004, chairman of Pharmovation — a company incorporated at the School of Pharmacy at London University.
Stuart never forgot his roots in pharmacy. He was highly skilled in business strategy, a bright and intelligent leader of people, and a fun-loving raconteur. He was supported to the end by his beloved wife Judy, their sons Charles and James, daughters-in-law Ruth and Jen, and their four grandchildren. He will be sorely missed by all his family and friends.