Power in the Regions - Biographies

Richard Bonsall - Head of Commercial, UK Biomass, RWE Npower Renewables

Richard has worked in the UK electricity industry in a variety of roles including power station construction project management, service management, business development and for the last 5 years in project development. He was responsible for the development of RWE’s 50MW Markinch CHP project in Fife which will supply Tullis Russell's paper mill with all of its electricity and steam.

Richard is a chartered mechanical engineer and following university spent 6 years as a marine engineering officer in the Royal Navy.

Richard is currently Head of Commercial for RWE npower renewable’s biomass business. RWE npower renewables is one of the UK's leading renewable energy companies and is the UK subsidiary of RWE Innogy the renewables business of RWE AG.

Olive Hill - Director, Technology & Process Development Division, Invest NI

Olive is the Director of Technology and Process Development with Invest NI and leads on the organisation’s development of the renewable energy sector. This work has included the development of specific trade and collaborative networks and embedding the renewables sector as a priority across all government departments in Northern Ireland Her remit also includes developing support for companies to maximise productivity through the use of ICT, energy efficiency and waste management. She is responsible for Invest NI’s support programmes for patent and IP development and for assisting companies meet the appropriate regulatory standards through programmes such as CE Marking. She is responsible for the funding of three key delivery organisations in Northern Ireland – Carbon Trust, Envirowise and NISP and sits on the Board of the Crabon Trust.

Olive’s previous roles in Invest NI included responsibility for eBusiness and professional services. Before joining Invest NI Olive held a number of marketing roles based in Northern Ireland, Hong Kong and France.

Douglas Mundie - Managing Director, SMRU Ltd

Douglas Mundie graduated from St Andrews University in 1974 with an MA (Hons) degree in English Language & Literature, and spent 25 years in industry, primarily in high-technology plastics, involved in a wide variety of end-user markets. He worked throughout the UK, Europe, and America in senior positions in Sales, Marketing, and General Management. In 2000, he was appointed to review how business and academia can work more closely together in Scotland, joining Technology Ventures Scotland as their first Chief Executive. Since 2004, he has worked as a Consultant to both businesses and academic institutions, helping them innovate effectively.

In June 2006, in the early days of setting up the Company, he joined the Board of SMRU Ltd www.smru.co.uk as a Non-Executive Director to add commercial expertise to planning the Company’s strategy of commercialising the knowledge and technology involved in collecting, analysing, interpreting and visualising data from the marine environment. In January 2009, he was appointed Managing Director. SMRU Ltd is the commercial arm of St Andrews University’s world-renowned Sea Mammal Research Unit.

Robin Presswood - Business & Strategy Manager, Fife Council Development Services

Robin Presswood is Business & Strategy Manager with Fife Council Development Services, with responsibility for planning policy, economic development, renewable energy, sustainability and business infrastructure. He has 20 years experience in local government economic development, and is currently Chair of the Scottish Local Authority Economic Development Group (SLAED). He is a Non-Executive Director of Business Gateway Fife, and a member of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan Implementation Group.

In his spare time, Robin has a strong interest in the arts having served on the Scottish Arts Council, and is currently Chairman of Dundee Contemporary Arts. He is also a keen skier and is married with two daughters.

Richard Squires - Non-Executive Director, Senergy Alternative Energy

Richard (Rick) Squires is a non-executive director of Senergy Alternative Energy, an Aberdeen based company that focuses on providing development services in the alternative and renewable energy sectors, notably those of carbon transport and storage, wind power, geothermal, and coal bed methane. Senergy Alternative Energy operates at new frontiers and in fresh territories to help clients unlock natural, cleaner resources through the application of the best available technical and scientific know-how.

He is also a non-executive director of Good Energy Group Plc, the UK's only dedicated 100% renewable electricity supplier. The company buys from over 1000 pioneering renewable generators, large and small (including 600+ home generators), and supplies nearly 27,000 UK homes and businesses with renewable energy. Good Energy is currently repowering the first wind farm built in the UK at Delabole in Cornwall and is developing further renewable generation projects.

Rick is the founder of PiEnergy which provides consultancy services to the international energy business across a spectrum of activities, with particular focus on the electricity, renewable energy and clean technology sectors.

In addition, Rick is chairman of FibreGen; a UK based wood pellet company which has a operating plant in British Columbia, Canada which supplies pellets to the N American and export markets. Until recently he was non-executive chairman of Eclipse Energy, a UK based offshore hybrid gas and wind power company (250 MW) which was sold to one of the major utilities in Europe. He also acts as a senior consultant to an international executive search company, focusing on the renewable energy and new technology business sectors.

Until early 2003, Rick was based in Boston, USA, as Senior Vice President of InterGen, an international power company with over 1000 employees and 16 GW of power plants in ten countries. Prior to joining InterGen, Rick headed the Power Business within Shell International and was the leader of the team that acquired 50% of InterGen in 1997. His career in Shell spanned over 25 years and included senior management positions in International Oil Trading, Coal Business Development and Marketing. While principally based in London, he has had assignments with Shell companies in South Africa and Japan. Before joining Shell, he worked for the South Western Electricity Board in the UK.

Rick holds a First Class Honours Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Masters Degree in Business Studies; he is a member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, the Institute of Directors and also the Energy Institute.

Mike Weston - Head of Energy Research Group - University of the Highland and Islands

Mike is Head of the Energy Research Group at the University of the Highlands and Islands where he is developing and implementing the UHI energy research strategy in collaboration with the academic leadership in the UHI partners. He was previously responsible for the Technical Strategy at ITI Energy where he oversaw the launch of a number projects in a range of areas including bio-energy and energy storage. These in particular reflect his particular research interests which were gained during his early career developing innovative and readily applicable energy solutions at the Ministry of Defence.