Offshore Wind Conference 2025 Speakers

Joanne Allday

Head of Strategy and Business Development, Port of Cromarty Firth

Port of Cromarty Firth is at the centre of Scotland’s offshore wind industry, providing critical laydown areas, deep quaysides, an experienced supply chain, and sheltered waters in close proximity to the windfarm sites. In 2023 the Port’s Invergordon Service Base successfully hosted Moray West’s XL monopiles. Joanne is a senior executive at PoCF and led the successful Green Freeport bid for Inverness and the Cromarty Firth. She is currently leading the Port’s engagement with UK Government (DESNZ) to finalise the provisional £55M FLOWMIS funding award for the Port’s £110M Phase 5 expansion project.

Charles Balderston

Director, Vekta Group

Charles is an experienced and driven Entrepreneur and Engineering Project Manager specialising in Electrical systems with 20+ years of experience in the energy and transport sectors including 12+ years in the development, construction, management and steering of over 30GW of offshore /
onshore wind projects.

He is experienced in the delivery of projects from proposal, consenting then through FID to operations. He is a highly determined and innovative person and very adept at managing multiple disciplines and packages in a project. He has strong experience in positive stakeholder management and always works to take an honest and collaborative approach, adding value wherever possible.

James Barry

Chief Executive, Renewable Parts

Following a career spanning 25 years with Aerospace Corporate, Rolls-Royce, James moved to lead Renewable Parts to become a global player in the parts supply chain for wind
turbines. Focused on the development of circular economy solutions using remanufacture
technology, Renewable Parts has developed a novel, business model through Engineering innovation.
Over the past nine years Renewable Parts has grown ten-fold to become the industry’s
leading provider of parts reuse capability for on-shore, offshore, and international markets. In partnership with operators, OEMs and ISPs, Renewable Parts technology is helping
business to decarbonise their supply chains and meet their net zero goals.
Renewable Parts strategy to invest in inventory, technology, and state of the art facilities is central to its mission to deliver increased parts availability with a reduced carbon footprint.
The model, now firmly established within Europe, has recently been extended to the US with the opening of its second remanufacturing centre, in Houston Texas in 2024.

Mike Engelbrecht

Vice President, Sumitomo Electric UK Power Cables

Mike joined Japan’s Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI) in 2022 and has been appointed as Vice President and Director of SEUK-CL (a wholly owned subsidiary of SEI) based in Inverness, Scotland.

Prior to SEI, Mike held the positions of CEO Ducab-HV (a new build Middle Eastern based power cable company in Dubai) and CEO Ducab Cables Division. He also served as a director of a joint venture company between Sumitomo Electric Industries and Ducab-HV, assuming the Chair between 2019 and 2022.

Mike commenced his career in cables for a South African company (CBi Electric: African Cables) where he honed his skills in various technical and commercial positions, culminating in appointment to GM of the Power Installations Division.

Mike brings a wealth of experience in the cable industry, possessing both technical and commercial expertise. His strategic business acumen and management of multi-cultural teams are key to his leadership style and will be instrumental as SEUK-CL looks to complete its factory build and commence with commercial offshore cable supply, in support of UK and Scottish offshore renewable and grid expansion activities.

Clare Foster

Partner & Head of Clean Energy, Shepherd and Wedderburn

Clare Foster is Head of Clean Energy at law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP and as a banking partner, she also leads the firm’s project finance practice. Clare is a dual qualified project finance lawyer and has been involved in the energy sector since the early renewable projects of the late 1990s. Clare advises clients on UK projects spanning the energy sector, including offshore (fixed, floating and tidal), onshore (wind, solar and battery storage), biomass, hydro, energy efficiency and other decarbonisation projects, and leads the team on most clean energy transactions. She leads the Edinburgh Climate Compact and was a director on the Board of RenewableUK from 2019-2022.

Emma Harrick

Director of Energy Transition and Supply Chain, Scottish Renewables

Emma Harrick is Director of Energy Transition and Supply Chain at Scottish Renewables. Scottish Renewables is the voice of Scotland’s renewable energy industry and works to grow the sector as well as sustain its position at the forefront of the global clean energy industry. Emma comes from a background in the renewable energy supply chain with experience in engineering, fabrication and port services organisations. Having worked in the sector for many years Emma has an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by companies who are hoping to benefit from the opportunities presented by net-zero technology projects. In her role at Scottish Renewables Emma works collaboratively across the sector through her engagement with stakeholders and participation in groups, such as the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council’s Supply Chain and Clusters working group, to champion the diverse organisations making up the growing renewable energy supply chain in Scotland.

Peter Haughie

Procurement and Contracts Director, Ocean Winds

Peter has worked in the offshore wind industry for the last thirteen years for Ocean Winds (previously as EDP Renewables). In that time, he has worked on fixed and floating projects in Europe and North America. Peter was closely involved in the development of the Moray Firth lease area and the associated supply chains.
He is currently Procurement and Contracts Director, and is responsible for all aspects of procurement and contract management for the UK portfolio including Moray East, Moray West, Caledonia, and Arven projects.
Peter has a master's degree in Renewable Energy Development from Heriot-Watt University.

Rosemary Kennedy

Head of Revenues and Stakeholder Relations, Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm

Head of Revenues and Stakeholder Relations for Inch Cape Offshore Windfarm, Rosemary has worked in the energy industry for twenty years and on the Inch Cape project since 2021. Rosemary has a commercial background and has worked across a variety of roles and disciplines; she holds a degree in Financial Information Systems from Trinity College Dublin and an MBA from University College Dublin.

Sarah Kidd

Proposals Manager, Vårgrønn

Sarah, Proposals Manager at Vårgrønn, has over 8 years of experience in the energy industry, focusing on offshore wind, onshore wind, and solar. She has served as Bid Manager for seabed leasing rounds and offtake auctions, including CfD Allocation Rounds 3 to 6. Sarah played a pivotal role in securing a CfD for Green Volt, Europe's first commercial scale floating offshore wind farm. Earlier in her career, Sarah worked for a utility, enhancing her expertise in the UK electricity market.

Stuart Lawson

Solutions Director and Co-Founder, Innovair

Stuart is a leader redefining the inspection of energy assets in challenging, remote, and hazardous environments. With over 18 years’ experience in Oil & Gas and wind energy, and a degree in Artificial Intelligence & Robotics, Stuart has delivered hundreds of offshore projects, combining technical expertise with advanced robotics and AI-driven solutions. As Solutions Director at Innovair, he’s passionate about making energy assets safer and more productive, leveraging cutting-edge technologies and his deep industry knowledge to help clients achieve efficient, reliable, inspections that maximise asset longevity.

Susie Lind

UK Managing Director, BlueFloat Energy | Nadara Partnership

Susie is the Managing Director of the BlueFloat Energy | Nadara Partnership in the UK where she leads the development of 5GW of floating offshore wind. Susie has worked in the energy sector for 15 years in development, construction, operation and decommissioning of projects including on and offshore wind, solar and battery. Previous roles include executive director positions at EDF (UK) and EDF Renewables. She remains a qualified lawyer, notary public and Writer to His Majesty’s Signet.

Claire Mack

Chief Executive, Scottish Renewables

Claire has been Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, the representative voice of Scotland’s renewable energy industry, since October 2017. She is responsible for leading the organisation’s work to grow Scotland’s renewables sector and sustain its position at the forefront of the global clean energy industry.

Claire is a member of the First Minister’s Energy Advisory Board and is co-chair of the Renewable Energy Strategic Leadership Group. She is also co-chair of the Scottish Government Marine Energy Industry Group.

Claire is a member of SSEN’s Network for Net Zero Stakeholder Group and a member of the Centre for Work-Based Learning in Scotland Advisory Group.

Claire was awarded the University of Strathclyde’s STELAR award for executive leadership within the industry in 2021 and is also an honorary fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society.

Prof. Juergen Maier CBE, FRS, FREng, FIET, FCGI

Chair, Great British Energy

Juergen Maier served as the former Chief Executive of Siemens UK. Over his 33 year career with Siemens, he held several senior roles in the UK and Germany. During Juergen’s leadership, the company played a pivotal role in UK’s decarbonisation of the electricity system.
Juergen takes a strong leadership role for UK’s industrial, infrastructure and manufacturing community. He served on the Board of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills from 2014 to 2016 and his work has supported several previous government Industrial Strategy initiatives.
Juergen believes that businesses should play an active role in society and community matters. To further this mission, he co-founded the social enterprise vocL.
In July 2024, Juergen was appointed as Start Up Chair of Great British Energy to drive forward this new, operationally independent company.

Eddie McAvinchey

Banking & Investments – Scotland, National Wealth Fund

Eddie is the Scotland representative of the National Wealth Fund and is based in Edinburgh.  His role covers NWF’s activities across both the public and private sectors.  The NWF was launched in October 2024 to provide £27.8bn of capital to support the delivery of the Government’s pending industrial Strategy.  Prior to joining NWF, Eddie was an Executive Director at the Scottish National Investment Bank, and Head of Corporate Finance at Edinburgh-based merchant bank Noble & Co.  Earlier in his career he established Clydesdale Bank’s first renewable energy team and its project finance product offering.

Brian McFarlane

Head of Offshore Development, UK, SSE Renewables and Co-Chair of SOWEC

Head of Offshore Development UK at SSE Renewables (SSER) and industry Co-chair of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC). Worked in Renewable Energy since 2003, initially with Scottish Power then to Airtricity and SSE Renewables, gaining a wealth of experience leading some of SSER most high-profile projects, including the construction of the Clyde onshore wind farm and the development of the Beatrice, Seagreen, Dogger Bank, Berwick Bank, North Falls and Ossian offshore wind farms. Represents SSER on the Offshore Wind Industry Council Board (OWIC) and is a a member of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) and OWIC Executive Council in his SOWEC capacity. A Chartered Civil Engineer having graduated from the University of Strathclyde.

Alex Meredith

Project Director – Berwick Bank Wind Farm, SSE Renewables

Alex Meredith is Project Director of Berwick Bank Wind Farm.

Alex leads the Berwick Bank project team which includes over 100 brilliant people from across the SSER business working together to deliver one of the world’s largest offshore wind opportunities.

Alex joined SSE to lead Berwick Bank in April 2021 having worked in the renewables sector for over a decade as a Project Director, Offshore Wind Investment Manager and formerly as a lawyer.

Ian Milne

Head of Business Development, Balmoral Comtec

With more than 13 years’ experience in the global offshore energy sector, Ian has in-depth sales management and business development knowledge of marine construction projects. With a passion for renewable energy, he joined Balmoral in 2019 to develop and enhance the company’s presence within the sector. With Balmoral now an established player within Offshore Wind, supporting some 11GW of fixed and floating installations with subsea protection and buoyancy, Ian’s focus is on the strategic growth of the business in domestic and international markets. Ian is a member of various industry associations and regularly promotes the wider Scottish supply chain.

Liam Moore

Senior Engineer, 2H Offshore

Liam has 6 years’ of engineering experience in design and numerical analysis of offshore structures used in energy production including risers, moorings and cable systems. He has had various roles in a number of detailed design, feasibility and verification projects. These include both local and global modelling of a variety of offshore structural systems for a various floating offshore wind projects. These include coupled assessments looking at floating foundations, turbine, mooring systems and power cables to support developer and vendors on floating wind projects. He has been based in the 2H’s Aberdeen office for the past 6 years.

Gillian Morrison

SIM Group Chair, Crown Estate Scotland

Gillian leads offshore wind supply chain activity for Crown Estate Scotland. Through her role she is engaged in priority areas associated with supply chain growth and investment, representing Crown Estate Scotland on a number of strategic forums across Government and industry. Supporting the development and expansion of offshore wind in Scotland is one of the most important roles Crown Estate Scotland is charged with and working with stakeholders and industry to enable supply chain growth is a critical component.
Gillian has worked within the offshore wind sector for over 10 years with a focus on supply chain, collaboration and economic impact. Gillian currently chairs the Strategic Investment Model (SIM) Group and has led the development of the SIM since its inception. The SIM won the Industry Challenger category at the 2024 Green Energy awards and Gillian won the Renewable UK Global Offshore Wind Collaboration award.

Pamela Neri

Harbour Development Manager, Fraserburgh

As Harbour Development Manager of Fraserburgh Harbour, a key element of Pamela’s role is to progress the ambitious ≈£300m Fraserburgh South Harbour development, which aims to secure the future of Fraserburgh for current and future customers through delivery of the infrastructure required by a range of industries.

Fraserburgh Harbour is a busy and diverse port, with significant experience in offshore wind as the O&M base for Moray East Offshore Wind Farm. Committed to a decarbonised future, the Harbour has offered shore power and water at every berth since 2019 and provides knowledgeable support and the smooth operations required by the offshore renewable energy industry. In developing the Harbour’s energy industry offering, Pamela draws upon a diverse background in economic development, business development and project management in the academic and private sectors. Originally from Fraserburgh, she is committed to the economic development of the area to achieve prosperity for all, and she sees the Harbour’s expansion as critical to that ambition.

Outside work, Pamela is a Trustee of Fraserburgh Sea Cadets and enjoys promoting the work they do with young people to potential supporters in the maritime industries.

Paul Olvhoj

Business Development Manager, Orkney Future Ports

Paul is Business Development Manager at Orkney Harbours and came to Orkney from the Port of Sunderland in 2019. He spent his time at sea in the Royal Navy and then around the world conducting wireline and geotechnical surveys offshore. The role covers all of the harbours business streams, mainly in the oil & gas, offshore renewables and cruise sectors and Paul is commercial lead of the major projects planned in Scapa Flow and further afield in Orkney as part of the Orkney Future Ports infrastructure programme that aims to develop Orkney into a world class marine hub.

Ewan Rabey

Procurement and Commercial Manager, SSEN Transmission

Ewan is a Senior Procurement and Commercial Manager at SSEN Transmission. He is responsible for Supply Chain Engagement and Performance across the transmission business. Ewan has been with the business for over 5 years and prior to his current role, was responsible for the successful delivery of the network renewal projects. Prior to joining SSEN Transmission, Ewan worked in the construction industry for 11 years delivering a range of projects including universities, hotels, schools, hospitals and wider infrastructure projects.

David Rennie

Head of Energy Transition, Scottish Enterprise

David Rennie became Head of Energy Transition at Scottish Enterprise in July 2022. This remit covers Offshore Wind, Marine and also Energy Policy and Research. He is also deputy chair of the Strategic Investment Model (SIM) Offshore Wind. He is also a observer at the Net Zero Technology Centre board.

From 2020 to 2022 he was Head of Trade for Energy and Low Carbon Transition for Scottish Development International, the international arm of Scottish Enterprise, helping companies to export and trade overseas

Prior to that, he held a number of roles within Scottish Enterprise. For most of his time with SE, he was Head of Oil and Gas, working with stakeholders, the company base and trade bodies to help the sector to grow and evolve. For a number of years he was also on the board of Subsea UK, the predecessor to the Global Underwater Hub.

Mark Richardson

Head of Offshore Wind, Scottish Renewables

Mark is Scottish Renewables’ Head of Offshore having previously led Onshore Wind and Consenting at SR. His work involves overseeing Scottish Renewables’ policy function for this area, working on behalf of 360+ organisations to grow Scotland’s renewable energy sector and sustain its position at the forefront of the global clean energy industry.

Before joining Scottish Renewables, Mark was driving the sustainability agenda below the surface throughout the luxury industry for several years, with a diverse international background spanning Architecture, Aviation and Fine Art to Interior Design and Superyachts. Mark is a firm believer in the power of nature and a lifelong supporter of the greenest football team in the world, Forest Green Rovers.

Roger Salomone

Head of Public Affairs UK & Ireland, Vestas

Roger has been Head of Public Affairs UK & Ireland at Vestas since March 2022. He has two decade’s experience across the oil and gas, renewables and manufacturing sectors. Roger joined Vestas from ExxonMobil where he held a series of roles including leading communications for the company’s EU affairs office, advising the exploration business across Europe and Africa, and heading up public affairs for the UK business. Earlier in his career he worked in the trade association representing UK manufacturers, European energy market consultancy and the UK electricity market.

Jason Schofield

Managing Director, Green Marine

Jason is the Managing Director and Founder of Green Marine. With over 30 years experience in the marine sector, he is responsible for leading the companies future growth. Green Marine has grown from a vessel owner operating company to a provider of turnkey solutions, with a capable in-house team of engineers who have been commended for their success. Green Marine’s main business is in the Offshore Wind sector, in which Green Marine has worked on most of the UK’s Windfarms. Green Marine has been the recipient of numerous national and international industry awards under the leadership of Jason.

Elliott Shilling

Head of Business Acquisition, Beam

I studied oceanography at the University of Plymouth before starting my career at Gardline as a Trainee Commercial Manager, gaining insight across all aspects of the business. Since then, I've worked in project management and commercial roles for various survey and inspection providers. I was part of the pioneering team at XOCEAN that introduced Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) to gather data for offshore wind projects and their maintenance. At TGS, I focused on developing Data as a Service offerings. I joined Beam in January 2024, where I am responsible for business acquisition and expanding our marine site characterisation business unit.

Iain Sinclair

Executive Director, Global Energy Group

Iain is the Executive Director of Global Energy Group, leading strategic growth in renewable energy markets, with a focus on infrastructure development and investment at the Port of Nigg. He has over 20 years of experience in the renewable energy supply chain, holding senior executive roles in heavy engineering and materials manufacturing. Iain serves as Vice Chair of Scottish Renewables, a board director of Renewable UK, a non-executive director at Offshore Wind Growth Partnership and Mocean Energy and Chairs the Scottish Offshore Wind Ports Alliance.

Michael Somerville

UK Project Co-ordination & Integration Manager, ScottishPower Renewables

Mike has 20 years of project management experience within the energy industry, most recently focussing on SPR’s flagship East Anglia Hub Offshore Wind Farm Projects. He specialises in project set up, risk management, cost control, programming and resource management.

Jon Abbatt

Offshore Development Strategy Manager, SSE Renewables

Jonathan Abbatt is the Offshore Development Strategy Manager for SSE Renewables. He has an overview of the key strategic consent and environment issues affecting the delivery of SSE renewable’s offshore portfolio across the UK.

Mark Baxter

Project Director and Chair of SOWEC Developers Group, Ocean Winds

Mark is the Caledonia Project Director at Ocean Winds, bringing over 15 years' experience in the Energy industry, including Offshore Wind during delivery of Round 3 consents and working within Networks on Smart Grids.

He joined Ocean Winds in 2020 working as the Head of Development during the Construction of Moray East and was appointed as Caledonia Project Director in February 2022. In November he was announced as Chair of the SOWEC Developer Group.

Throughout his career he has made significant contributions to the development and delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects across Transport and Energy.

Bruce Buchanan

Engagement and Policy Manager, Offshore Wind Directorate, Scottish Government

Bruce has worked for the Offshore Wind Directorate, Scottish Government, since its inception in April 2023. Prior to this post, Bruce worked within the Marine Planning & Policy division of Marine Scotland for a period of 10 years. In the earlier part of Bruce’s civil service career, he gained some 20 years’ experience working with the fishing industry through postings with Marine Scotland Compliance at Ayr, Lerwick and Edinburgh.

Jonathan Cole

CEO, Corio Generation

Jonathan Cole is CEO of Corio Generation, the global offshore wind business headquartered in London. Corio is home to one of the world's largest offshore wind portfolios with around 25 GW of projects in development across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. Corio is a portfolio company of Macquarie Asset Management, operating on a standalone basis. Jonathan is Chair of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and has held prominent industry positions including chairing the Global Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation (G+). Prior to joining Corio, Jonathan helped create and then ran Iberdrola’s Offshore Wind Business for over a decade.

Barnaby Cowin

Strategic Grid & Electrical Lead, BlueFloat Energy | Nadara Partnership

Barney has worked in the energy sector for over fifteen years, starting work in renewables at Ofgem before moving to RWE and then on to Statkraft. At Statkraft Barney managed the Grid Connections Team providing grid support and advice, working across the wind, solar, grid services and e-fuels development teams. Since October 2024 Barney has been the Strategic Grid and Electrical Lead at the Nadara/Bluefloat partnership where he is responsible for grid for two floating wind sites in Scotland secured through the ScotWind leasing round – Broadshore north of Fraserburgh and Bellrock east of Aberdeen, and also two innovation projects, Sinclair & Scaraben, which lie adjacent to Broadshore.

Zoe Crutchfield

Marine Directorate - Head of Licensing Operations Team, Scottish Government

Zoe has been head of the Scottish Government Marine Directorate Licensing Operations Team since 2018. Zoe Crutchfield has worked on marine projects for the majority of her working career - starting early through the family fishing business, then in oil and gas, marine nature conservation, wind farm development and consultancy. Working on all aspects of project development as well as for key stakeholders and now as the regulator has given Zoe a clear insight into the many aspects of offshore development.

Femke de Boer

Commercial Fisheries Specialist, Xodus

Femke has a bachelor’s in biology and masters in applied marine and fisheries ecology. She started her career as inshore policy officer at the SWFPA, where, as part of the commercial fisheries industry, she represented almost 250 active fishing vessels. Since joining Xodus in 2021, Femke has authored multiple Commercial Fisheries Chapters for Environmental Impact Assessments for offshore renewable projects in Scotland, England and Ireland. In addition to EIAs, Femke worked on gear relocation methodologies, managed fisheries stakeholder consultation, supported projects as Fishery Liaison Officer (FLO) and delivered presentations to and about the fishing industry.

Lisa Di Mambro-Fitzpatrick

Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Ossian Offshore Wind Farm

Lisa joined the corporate affairs team at SSE Renewables over 2 years ago and is a Stakeholder Engagement Manager. Lisa has over six years’ experience in the renewable energy sector and works with the Ossian wind farm project. Lisa is responsible for the stakeholder engagement strategy along with external communications. The delivery of Ossian’s stakeholder engagement and communication includes working with industry bodies, local planning authorities, regulators, environmental stakeholders, supply chain and importantly, local communities; ensuring that they all have visibility and where required, input into the design and delivery of the project at an early stage, maintaining dialogue throughout the project lifecycle.
Ossian, a floating offshore wind farm, will be located off the east coast of Scotland, and at capacity will have the potential to produce up to 3.6GW of energy, enough to power up to six million homes.
Previously, Lisa was Project Manager at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, where she worked closely with technology developers and the local community.

Charlotte Dick

Consultant, BVG Associates

Charlotte is a consultant at BVG Associates, specializing in economic modelling and business strategy. She delivers expert insights in supply chain assessments, market skills analyses and marine spatial planning. Her recent projects include analysing Scotland’s onshore wind pipeline, assessing global floating offshore wind markets and developing an online skills pathway for Ireland’s offshore wind industry. With a background in the US geothermal and battery storage sectors and experience as a mathematics teacher in the UK, Charlotte combines technical expertise with strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills. Her passion for data analysis drives impactful, data-driven solutions for the renewable energy sector.

Andrew Foster

Project Director - Malin Sea Wind, ESB

Andrew is the Project Director for Malin Sea Wind, an INTOG innovative floating wind project. Andrew’s background is in mechanical engineering. He began his career in maintenance management and has gained extensive experience in the energy industry through drilling engineering and well construction in large-scale international energy projects over many years. He moved to renewables through a geotechnical consultancy role focussed on marine advisory and project management for early-stage offshore wind development projects in Ireland before joining ESB in 2023. He holds an MSc in Well Engineering & Design and more recently an MBA in Energy & Sustainability.

Mandy Gloyer

Head of Offshore Development, ScottishPower Renewables

Mandy is Head of Offshore Development for Scotland at ScottishPower Renewables and leads on SPR’s 7GW of ScotWind projects.
Mandy has been with ScottishPower Renewables since 2009, holding roles in policy, stakeholder and community engagement. With a background in environmental and planning policy, she was previously Head of Land Use Policy for the RSPB in Scotland, and has also held roles with the National Farmers’ Union (England and Wales) and the predecessor body to Natural England.

Raymond Hall

Renewable Energy Policy Officer, Scottish White Fish Producers Association

Born and raised in Arbroath, employed as the Renewable Energy Policy Officer for the Scottish Whitefish Producers Association (SWFPA). My primary goal is to ensure that the current generation of fishers, as well as those that follow, can continue to enjoy the same opportunities that have defined my own fishing career. My work focuses on navigating the intersection of renewable energy development and the fishing industry, advocating for policies that protect the interests of coastal communities. Beyond my professional life, I am deeply passionate about my family, which remains my greatest priority.

Rahul Jagdale

Head of Strategic System Planning, SSEN Transmission

Rahul is the Head of Strategic System Planning with SSEN Transmission, the owner and operator of the north of Scotland electricity transmission system. Rahul has around 18 years’ experience in the electricity and renewables industry, specialising in system planning, operations, and investment in transmission networks. In his current role, he focuses on utilising pathways to 2030 and beyond blueprint, enabling the transition to net zero emissions in the energy sector through the planning of the transmission network in the north of Scotland to accommodate customer connections of various generation technologies and to provide the necessary grid capacity, working with other network operators and the National Energy System Operator.

Charlie Jordan

CEO, ScottishPower Renewables

Charlie Jordan’s career with ScottishPower began in 1997 where he joined the then Technology Division of the business. He joined Renewables in 2002 as a Project Engineer at Cruach Mhor onshore windfarm (UK) and went on to manage the construction of many onshore windfarms across the UK before joining the Offshore business in 2009.

Charlie led the development and construction of Iberdrola’s first Offshore Windfarm at West of Duddon Sands before taking on the role of Project Director for the group’s flagship £2.5bn East Anglia ONE Offshore Windfarm, the largest infrastructure investment in the Iberdrola portfolio at the time, later becoming CEO of East Anglia ONE Ltd.

In 2021, Charlie was appointed Offshore UK & Project Management Director, responsible for driving the group’s offshore development pipeline including execution of large-scale construction projects.

In addition to his role at ScottishPower, Charlie is a Director of the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) as well as a contributing member of various Offshore Wind NGO’s.

Charlie studied Civil Engineering at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

Mike Liddell

Program Director Future Workforce, Global Marine Asset Integrity, Fugro

Mike is a Surveying graduate of Otago University, New Zealand. He has worked in the offshore survey industry since moving to the UK in 1997. He has a broad experience across geophysical, hydrographic, positioning, construction support and inspection and monitoring domains.
Since 2003 he has been with Fugro in the UK in a number of positions including Processing Manager, Chief Surveyor and Global Service Line Director. He is currently Program Director Future Workforce where he is focused on transforming the operational model used within Fugro’s marine geodata business. This role focuses on the integration to robotics and remote operations on the Fugro fleet of vessel to facilitate a transition of offshore activities from the vessel to a Remote Operations Centre.

In 2014 he became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Over the last decade he has also had a strong involvement with IMCA and was Chair of the IMCA Survey Division Management Committee from 2015-2021.

Alex Louden

Head of UK&IE Innovation Hub, Ørsted

Alex Louden is Head of Ørsted’s UK and Ireland Innovation Hub. The Hub serves as the front door for innovators in Great Britain and Ireland to engage with Ørsted and explore opportunities for collaborative Research and Development partnerships. The Hub’s portfolio covers partnerships with academia, start-ups and research organisations as well as Joint Industry Programmes. Alex’s career to-date has been focussed on innovation in offshore wind and other offshore renewable energy sectors, with extensive experience working with early-stage innovators, and delivering projects and programmes to support their development and commercialisation pathways.

Andrew Macdonald

Director, Offshore Wind Development and Operations, ORE Catapult

Andy Macdonald is Director, Offshore Wind Development and Operations at ORE Catapult. Andy leads ORE Catapult’s collaboration with offshore wind developers including the Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence (FOWCoE), O&M Centre of Excellence (OMCE) and the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP). He leads an engineering team dedicated to accelerating the growth of floating wind whilst reducing the risks and costs of O&M across the sector.

Andy led the development of the Floating Offshore Wind Innovation Centre (FLOWIC) in Aberdeen; establishing the world's first test facility dedicated to dynamic cables and mooring lines for floating wind.

Following an early career in electronics and telecoms engineering, Andy has focussed on innovation and supply chain growth and has worked in renewable energy for the last fifteen years helping to develop companies in the offshore wind and tidal energy sectors.

Maggie McGinlay

CEO, ETZ

Maggie is Chief Executive of ETZ Ltd, which is playing a leading role as the North East of Scotland’s energy transition catalyst. She leads the implementation of the flagship Energy Transition Zone project located next to Aberdeen South Harbour which will be at the heart of a sustainable, globally recognised integrated energy transition cluster. The project is supported by Scottish Government, UK Government and Opportunity North East (ONE). Maggie is an expert in the energy sector and economic development.

Prior to establishing ETZ Ltd, Maggie was Deputy Chief Executive at Opportunity North East (ONE) with responsibility for digital and energy. She joined ONE from Scottish Enterprise, where she latterly led the economic development agency’s work on energy.

Stephen McKellar

Head of Grid & Systems, Scottish Renewables

Stephen McKellar is Head of Grid & Systems at Scottish Renewables where he leads on policy efforts for UK electricity network reform. With prior experience in network and regulatory roles for the Scottish Government, he advocates for Scotland's renewable energy sector, shaping decarbonisation strategies in collaboration with government and regulatory bodies.

Amy Norman

Associate Director, Energy & Environment, Public First

Amy Norman is an Associate Director in the Energy + Environment team at Public First - a strategic policy research consultancy based in Westminster. Her recent work includes policy reports on accelerating transmission infrastructure for clean power by 2030 and Britain’s energy security in the 2020s, as well as in-depth public opinion research on local opposition to new energy infrastructure. Her recommendations on gird infrastructure were announced by the Labour Party at Conference 2023. Before Public First, Amy was a senior researcher at the Social Market Foundation think-tank.

Maggie Olson-Jow

Policy Manager, New Technologies, Scottish Renewables

Maggie Olson-Jow is the Policy Manager for New Technologies at Scottish Renewables. She focuses on hydrogen, wave & tidal, and INTOG. Our vision is for a Scotland leading the world in renewable energy. The sectors we represent deliver investment, jobs, social benefits, and reduce the carbon emissions which cause climate change. Our members work across all renewable energy technologies, in Scotland, the UK, Europe and around the world.

Maggie’s work as the Policy Manager for Hydrogen, Wave & Tidal, and INTOG involves managing and supporting the development of Scottish Renewables’ policy positions, which aim to create the conditions for the sustainable growth of Scotland’s renewable energy industry, and communicating these effectively to key policy and regulatory decision makers.

Hannah Page

Consents Lead, Thistle Wind Partners

Hannah is the Consents Lead at Thistle Wind Partners (TWP) with overall responsibility for the delivery of the onshore and offshore consents for TWP’s two ScotWind projects - Ayre and Bowdun. A Chartered environmental professional, with over two decades of Environmental Impact Assessment and consenting experience across a wide range of sectors, including energy and renewables, both onshore and offshore in the UK and Australia. Hannah is an enthusiastic advocate for the offshore wind sector and the vital role it plays in addressing the climate emergency.

Colin Palmer

Director of Offshore, Scottish Renewables

Colin is Director of Offshore at Scottish Renewables, the representative voice of Scotland’s renewable energy sector. He is responsible for leading the organisation’s work in supporting and enabling the development and built out of Scotland’s world leading fixed and floating offshore wind pipeline, and in helping realise the tremendous wave & tidal energy opportunity Scotland has.

Before joining Scottish Renewables, Colin was Director of Marine at Crown Estate Scotland for a period of 5 years in which his responsibilities included leading the ScotWind and INTOG offshore wind leasing rounds.

Colin has always been passionate about the development and delivery of renewable energy having previously worked at SSE where, amongst other roles, he was the development phase project manager on the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm project.

He has degrees in marketing and in engineering project management.

David Robertson

Portfolio Director, BlueFloat Energy | Nadara Partnership

David has over 30 years’ experience in engineering, design and project management and began his career in the oil, gas and petrochemical sector before moving into renewables in 2005. He has worked extensively in offshore wind having delivered some of the UK’s earliest offshore wind projects to taking on his current role as Portfolio Director, responsible for delivering 2.3GW of floating offshore wind projects within the ScotWind and INTOG rounds for the BlueFloat Energy | Nadara Partnership.

Robert Rome

Commercial, Customer & Regulation Director, National Grid

Rob is Director of Commercial, Customer & Regulation for National Grid’s Interconnectors business. He is also Director for National Grid Interconnectors Ltd, National Grid IFA2 Ltd, National Grid NSL Ltd and National Grid Viking Ltd.

He is accountable for the commercial strategy of National Grid’s Interconnectors (IFA, IFA2, NSL and Viking Link), including developing and optimising products, services and hedging strategies.
Rob leads all aspects of commercial and regulatory interfaces, working with partners, government, regulators, National Energy System Operator (NESO) and wider stakeholders with a focus on improving policy and market arrangements. He is accountable for the customer portfolio and strategy, the communications and marketing around this, and the senior relationships with customers.
Rob started his career in 1997 with National Grid on their graduate scheme and from 2000 to 2016 in senior roles in the energy industry (Generation, Retail, New Build, Trading, Modelling, Analysis and Risk) prior to re-joining the National Grid ESO in 2016.

Aleks Schmidt-Sweetingham

Offshore Consents Manager, Ocean Winds

Aleks is an Offshore Consent Manager at Ocean Winds, bringing over 9 years' experience working on infrastructure and environmental projects in both the public and private sector. He joined Ocean Winds in 2022 and currently leads the offshore consenting activities on the Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm.

Prior to joining Ocean Winds, Aleks provided technical environmental support to offshore wind projects globally as well as working on environmental regulatory reform in the UK.

Lynsey Shovlin

Supply Chain Senior Associate, Ocean Winds

Lynsey is passionate about powering the future sustainably. Her mission? Building vibrant supply chains that energise local economies across Scotland!

She is a seasoned supply chain integrator in the offshore wind industry, and as Supply Chain Lead at Ocean Winds, she plays a key role in the 2GW Caledonia and 2.3GW Arven offshore wind farms, focusing on increasing local involvement and creating lasting value through long-term infrastructure development.

Chris Stark CBE

Head of Mission Control for Clean Power 2030, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Chris Stark leads the UK Government’s mission to achieve Clean Power by 2030, heading ’Mission Control’, the nerve centre of its delivery. He is tasked with defining Britain’s path to clean power and ensuring policies and the key institutions are equipped to deliver it.

Chris is a renowned climate and energy policy expert, speaking regularly about the urgency of confronting climate change and the opportunities of developing clean energy. As CEO of the UK’s Climate Change Committee he was the UK’s chief climate adviser, leading independent advice to put the world’s first Net Zero target into law and developing detailed cross-economy pathways to its achievement under the UK Climate Change Act. Chris has also been CEO of the Carbon Trust, a global climate consultancy, and has held a number of senior roles in the UK and Scottish Governments over the last 20 years.

Chris was lead expert for the UK Parliament’s ‘Net Zero UK’ citizens’ assembly. He has also featured in national and international news and media, alongside David Attenborough and other prominent commentators. Chris is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, an Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow and serves on the Boards of V&A Dundee and the arts climate charity Murmur.

Graham Stein

Head of Offshore Electricity Transmission Coordination, NESO

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is the independent public corporation responsible for co-ordinating system design and planning efforts across the whole energy industry. Graham heads up the team responsible for co-ordinating offshore electricity transmission within the NESO’s Strategic Energy Planning Department. Graham is an Electrical Engineer by background and has held a number of leadership roles within the NESO’s predecessor organisations in electricity transmission system design, operation and risk management.

Ian Taylor

Project Director, Thistle Wind Partners

Ian sets the strategic direction for TWP and leads the team’s work on planning, consenting, and developing its newly won ScotWind project sites. He has moved into this role after seven years as DEME’s Offshore Country Manager for both the UK and Ireland, where his focus was on the construction of offshore wind farms.

Ian’s renewables experience stretches back to 2002, starting as TXU UK’s (subsequently taken over by EON) commercial manager for renewable projects. He then headed up SLP Energy’s business, developing and constructing a portfolio of onshore wind and successfully securing and developing the Sheringham Shoal project as well as several offshore wind construction projects.
He joined Good Energies as an Investment Director, managing its portfolio of onshore wind assets as well as setting up and managing, as CEO, a rooftop PV development company in Paris before taking a lead role in the Dutch firm Typhoon Offshore, in the development to FC of the Gemini offshore wind project.

To all his roles, Ian brings cross-sectoral engineering experience forged during the early years of his career when he worked as a design engineer for companies such as Rolls Royce and Alstom. He holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management and took his first degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Holly Thomas

Grid & Systems Policy Manager, Scottish Renewables

Holly Thomas is the Grid & Systems Policy Manager for Scottish Renewables where her work focuses on reform of the UK’s electricity network to support our climate ambitions. As a representative for Scotland's renewable energy sector, she advocates for policies that promote the accelerated, coordinated expansion of the UK’s networks to facilitate continued investment in renewable energy projects. Holly works in collaboration with members to shape and communicate industry positions effectively to key policy and regulatory decision makers.