Best Startup
At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based Director operating in the Energy Efficiency space. If you think a Director is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Yiannis Ventikos
Co-founder and Non-Executive Director of First Light Fusion
Yiannis Ventikos is the Co-founder and Non-Executive Director of First Light Fusion.
Follow Yiannis Ventikos:
About First Light Fusion: First Light Fusion is an energy company that focuses on researching energy generation by inertial confinement fusion.
George Coehlo
Managing Director of Good Energies
George Coehlo is the Co-Founder and Partner of Astanor Ventures. He joined Good Energies from Balderton Capital, formerly known as Benchmark Capital, Europe, which he co-founded in 2000. Good Energies has actively invested in technology companies in all stages of development in both Europe and North America. George previously led Intel Corporation’s strategic venture capital investment outside the U.S. and, prior to that, was a founder of the group that evolved to become Intel Capital. He has served in a number of senior positions in corporate finance. George holds a B.S. from The American University and an MBA from The George Washington, D. C. University. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the UK chapter of TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs).
Follow George Coehlo:
About Astanor Ventures, Good Energies, PROfounders Capital: Good Energies is a New York-based investment company focused on the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.
Jonty Graham
Director, Head of Institutional Capital of Foresight Group
Jonty Graham joined Foresight Group in 2015 and currently works as a Director and the Head of the Institutional Capital team in the London office. He has over 10 years of experience. Jonty is responsible for building and managing relationships with institutional clients, through fundraising, strategy and deal co-ordination across all mandates and geographies. Prior to joining Foresight Jonty worked at Bloomberg as a Senior Relationship Manager where he focused on sales of Fixed Income Cash and Derivatives products to Investment Banks, Pension Funds, Asset Managers, Central Banks and Sovereign Wealth Funds across EMEA. He has also held roles at a merchant bank, a global real estate investor, and was a Second Lieutenant in the British Army. Jonty holds an MA in Classics and French from Edinburgh University, and has an Investment Management Certificate from CFA UK.
Follow Jonty Graham:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Hugi Clarke
Director of Foresight Group
Hugi Clarke joined Foresight Group in 2016 and currently works as a Director in the London office. He has over 19 years of experience. Hugi is responsible for developing sales, marketing and customer satisfaction for Foresight. Prior to joining Foresight Hugi worked at Octopus as an Area Director where he focused on managing a regional sales team. He has also worked as a Sales Manager at Zurich, managing a regional team. Hugi holds a BSc in Psychology from Nottingham Trent University.
Follow Hugi Clarke:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Rodney Appiah
Director of Foresight Group
Rodney joined Foresight in 2016 from the Business Growth Fund where he spent 5 years providing minority growth capital and board support to UK SMEs. Prior to BGF, Rodney was an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, advising PE sponsors and TMT corporates on leveraged finance transactions and M&A activity. In his spare time, Rodney is a business advisor to a number of start-up businesses and a school governor for an East London based Academy. Rodney holds a Bsc in Economics from Royal Holloway, University of London.
Follow Rodney Appiah:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Louise Chesworth
Director, Head of Institutional Investor Relations of Foresight Group
Louise Chesworth joined Foresight Group in 2015 and currently works as Director and Head of Institutional Investor Relations in the London office. She has 17 years of experience. Louise is responsible for the management and development of Foresight’s relationships with institutional investors and oversees client reporting. Prior to joining Foresight, Louise worked at Hermes GPE as an Investor Relations Manager, responsible for the group’s private equity and infrastructure clients. She also worked in IR at Gartmore Private Equity prior to the merger with Hermes Private Equity, and was previously a private equity journalist with Thomson Financial. Louise holds a BA in European History from the University of East Anglia.
Follow Louise Chesworth:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
John Holden
Director of Foresight Group
John joined Foresight in November 2016 to work on deploying the Foresight Williams Technology EIS Fund and is a specialist investor in technology. John has worked in and managed technology investment teams at businesses such as 3i Group, ANGLE and Imperial Innovations, where he spent five years investing in and working with early stage technology and medtech companies, before working on his own advisory and funding businesses. John is a graduate of Durham University and has a MBA with Distinction from Cranfield University.
Follow John Holden:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Suzie Ruffley
Director, Head of People of Foresight Group
Suzie Ruffley joined Foresight in January 2017 to set up Foresight’s HR function, she is a Director and the Head of People. Suzie has 14 years of HR experience and is responsible for all aspects of people strategy across the group. Prior to joining Foresight Suzie was Head of HR Operations at Royal Botanical Kew and before that held a breadth of HR roles for State Street. Suzie holds a MSc in Occupational Psychology from Liverpool John Moores University.
Follow Suzie Ruffley:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Ben Thompson
Group Marketing Director of Foresight Group
Ben Thompson joined Foresight Group in 2011 and currently works as the Group Marketing Director in the London office. With over thirty years of integrated communications experience both on the agency side and within financial companies, Ben is responsible for marketing activities for the group, including brand and corporate communications for all offices. Prior to joining Foresight Ben was Marketing Director at Espirito Santo Investment Bank where he focused on launching the Portuguese bank into the London market. Ben holds a BA in Music from Durham University.
Follow Ben Thompson:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Sarah Cole
Director, Institutional Capital of Foresight Group
Sarah joined Foresight in 2012 and is responsible for Foresight’s institutional client relationships. Prior to joining the firm, Sarah started her career at Barclays in corporate finance and has focused upon institutional investors and their alternative investments since 2004, establishing Citigroup’s European Capital Introductions effort, followed by 3 years in the US advising public and corporate pension funds on hedge fund portfolios totalling over $3bn, before joining Winton Capital as a VP within their UK/US institutional team. Sarah holds a BA in Politics from The University of Nottingham.
Follow Sarah Cole:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Matt Hammond
Director of Foresight Group
Matt Hammond joined Foresight Group in 2015 and currently works as a Director in the London office. He has over 20 years of experience. Matt is responsible for new infrastructure investment opportunities and enhancing investor returns by optimising financing structures within Foresight’s renewable energy infrastructure portfolio. Prior to joining Foresight Matt worked predominantly at Macquarie as a Director where he focused on infrastructure and renewable energy advisory, investing, and lending. He has also worked at Henderson, BT Alex Brown and the WHEB Group where he raised and invested two renewable energy funds investing across Europe. Matt holds a degree in Engineering (Industrial Automation) from the University of Sydney, an MA in Political Economy from London School of Economics and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance from the Australian Securities Institute.
Follow Matt Hammond:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Claire Alvarez
Director of Foresight Group
Claire joined Foresight’s Manchester office in 2016 from Deloitte’s Manchester practice where she spent six years advising banks and company directors and returning value from distressed SMEs. In this time Claire also completed an 18 month secondment to Barclays Bank Plc. Since graduating from Lancaster University with a 1st class degree in Management, Claire has worked extensively in the North West, initially for KPMG and subsequently at Altium Capital. In this time Claire also completed an MBA for Financial Professionals (with Distinction) through Manchester Business School.
Follow Claire Alvarez:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Yanti Falangola
Director – Head of Institutional Capital Southern Europe of Foresight Group
Yanti joined the Institutional Capital Team at Foresight in April 2016 from Cheyne Capital Management, one of Europe’s leading alternative investment fund managers. While at Cheyne, Yanti was responsible for the business development in Southern Europe and the Far East. Prior to this, he has been a fund analyst in two London based fund of hedge funds. Yanti holds a B.A. degree in Business Administration from Lynn University and a Master’s degree in International Business from Florida Atlantic University.
Follow Yanti Falangola:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Beth Watkins
Director of Foresight Group
Beth Watkins joined Foresight Group in 2015 and currently works as a Director in the London office. She has over 14 years of experience in project finance, project development and law. Beth is responsible for leading the origination, execution and monitoring of Foresight’s investments in the bioenergy and waste infrastructure sectors. Prior to joining Foresight Beth worked at Balfour Beatty Investments on the development of projects to finance, build and operate new straw fired and wood fired biomass renewable energy plants and a wide range of PFI and PPP projects. Beth is a solicitor, having trained and qualified with Pinsent Masons, and holds a Law degree from Bristol University.
Follow Beth Watkins:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Charles Sheldon
Director of Foresight Group
Charles joined Foresight in 2013 after four years at management consultancy Oliver Wyman, where he specialised in Financial Services, running projects for Investment and Retail banking and Private Equity clients. Prior to that he worked at Monitor Group. Charles is a PE graduate from the University of Oxford.
Follow Charles Sheldon:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Michael Quinn
Director of Foresight Group
Mike joined Foresight in 2016 to further develop our regional presence from the Nottingham office and into the wider Midlands market. Mike joined from RSM UK, where he led the East Midlands Corporate Finance team and was responsible for many corporate finance transactions in the region. At RSM, Mike worked closely with owners and Management Teams across a broad range of sectors on business disposals, management buyouts, fund raising and growth capital deals. Since joining Foresight, Mike has led investments into many businesses including Ekkosense, Retail Assist, 200 Degrees and Luminet. He currently sits on the board of six companies helping to deliver the strategy and drive value for all shareholders. Mike is well-established in the local professional community and recognised as a prominent dealmaker.
Follow Michael Quinn:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Stephen Thayer
Director of Foresight Group
Stephen Thayer joined Foresight Group in 2012 and currently works as a Director and the Head of Finance in the London office. He has over 13 years of experience. Stephen is responsible for overall financial reporting and control across the group, both on the corporate and fund sides of the business. Prior to joining Foresight Stephen worked at Marks & Spencer as a Senior Finance Manager where he focused on the international subsidiaries and franchise partners plus the general merchandise supply chain and logistics. He has also worked as an Audit Executive at EY, working in their Consumer Products audit division, focusing on a number of large listed and privately owned businesses. Stephen holds an MA in Chemistry from Oxford University and is a Chartered Accountant (ICAS).
Follow Stephen Thayer:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Richard Kelly
Director & Head of New Product Development of Foresight Group
Richard Kelly joined Foresight Group in 2014 and currently works as a Director in the London office. He has over 11 years of experience. Richard is responsible for the development and launch of innovative investment products and new business divisions. Prior to joining Foresight Richard worked at Accenture as a Strategy Manager where he focused on merger and acquisition strategy across a variety of industries. He has also worked as an Intern at Oxford Capital Partners, focusing on investment business plan screening and portfolio company performance improvement. Richard holds a BA in Business & Management from Exeter University.
Follow Richard Kelly:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Carlos Rey Micolau
Director of Foresight Group
Carlos joined Foresight in December 2011. Prior to that, he covered several roles at Renewables Energy Source “RES” project developer and technical consultant in the international Renewable Energy sector with a particular focus on the Spanish and Italian markets. Based in Foresight’s UK HQ, Carlos is responsible for the origination, arrangement and execution of infrastructure investments in Southern Europe, primarily in the renewable energy sector and has led Foresight’s investments in subsidy-free solar assets in the Iberian peninsula. Carlos graduated in Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management Engineering from UPC Barcelona and is fluent in Spanish, Catalan, Italian and English.
Follow Carlos Rey Micolau:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Bethany Dudley
Associate Sales Director of Foresight Group
Bethany Dudley joined Foresight Group in 2007 and currently works as an Associate Sales Director in the London office. She has over 10 years of experience. Bethany is responsible for sales of Foresight products in the in the south-east of England, East Anglia and Northern Ireland. Bethany holds a BA in Politics from the University of Leeds as well as an IMC qualification. She has also been awarded the STEP Certificate for Financial Services – Trusts and Estate Planning.
Follow Bethany Dudley:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Tom Moore
Director of Foresight Group
Tom Moore joined Foresight Group in 2014 and currently works as a Director in the London office. He has over 10 years of experience. Tom is responsible for the asset management of the global renewable energy infrastructure assets. Prior to joining Foresight Tom worked at Jubilee Financial Products as a Financial Controller where he was responsible for internal finance, operations and compliance. There he also performed advisory work for M&A transactions and corporate restructurings. Tom is a Chartered Accountant and holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of York.
Follow Tom Moore:
About Foresight Group: Foresight is an infrastructure and private equity investment manager that manages funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients.
Chris Joly
Board of Director of Upside Energy
Follow Chris Joly:
About : Upside Energy reduces greenhouse gases by enabling people to make smart choices about when to use energy.
Andy Molineux
Director of Development of Upside Energy
Follow Andy Molineux:
About Tripod Software, Upside Energy: Upside Energy reduces greenhouse gases by enabling people to make smart choices about when to use energy.
Shaun Hanrahan
Commercial Director and Executive Director of Epwin Group
Follow Shaun Hanrahan:
About Epwin Group: Epwin Group Plc is a leading supplier of low maintenance, sustainable and energy efficient products to the new build.
Chris Empson
Group Finance Director of Epwin Group
Chris joined Epwin in 2012 to support the business integration and development post the Latium merger. Before this Chris was a divisional finance director within Rentokil Initial Plc, having previously worked with Jon at BI Group as Group Finance Director. Chris also spent five years with 3i after having qualified as an ACA at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Follow Chris Empson:
About Epwin Group: Epwin Group Plc is a leading supplier of low maintenance, sustainable and energy efficient products to the new build.
Robert Hartill
Commercial Director of Epwin Group
Follow Robert Hartill:
About Epwin Group: Epwin Group Plc is a leading supplier of low maintenance, sustainable and energy efficient products to the new build.
Ning Zhang
Co-Founder & Executive Director of Limejump
Ning Zhang is the Co-founder at Limejump.
Follow Ning Zhang:
About Limejump: Limejump is a Technology-Driven Utility: harnessing the power of big data to positively disrupt and transform today’s energy market.
Paddy O’Clery
Business Development Director of Amber Energy
Follow Paddy O’Clery:
About Amber Energy: AMBER is a for profit cooperative with the goal of growing community based green energy generation in Ontario by engaging residents.
George Prassinos
Director – Systems Engineer of SDnC Ltd
Follow George Prassinos:
About OXTO Energy: SDnC, is a private start-up engineering company focused on the development of energy storage solutions.
Michael Brown
Director of Engineering of Telensa
In his early career with DEC, he managed voice and graphics product design groups, and later large scale data network implementations. Mike moved to Plextek to lead the development of hardware and software for production test and recently was responsible for the development of Telensa’s manufacturing test system. Moving to Telensa, Mike now heads up the team of software and hardware engineers responsible for the design, and development of Telensa’s products. Mike has an Msc in instrument design from Aberdeen University.
Follow Michael Brown:
About Telensa: Telensa makes wireless smart city control systems, including the worlds most deployed smart streetlight solution.
Adam Deering
Director Of Special Projects of EI_H2
Follow Adam Deering:
About EI_H2, Globenet Solutions: EI H2 is a hydrogen-focused renewable energy firm that plans to make ecologically friendly green hydrogen to help industries decarbonize.
Andrew Lever
Director, Policy & Innovation of Carbon Trust
Follow Andrew Lever:
About Carbon Trust: Carbon Trust is to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy, by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions now and develop.
Sandip Ukani
Global Technology, Systems and IT Director of Pulse Structural Monitoring
Sandip Ukani an electronic engineer by training, has been working in the oil and gas industry since 2003 and has extensive experience in monitoring of subsea structures. Like many Pulse employees, Sandip has worked on pioneering projects such as the development and delivery of the first fully monitored SCR for the Chevron Tahiti project.
Follow Sandip Ukani:
About Pulse Structural Monitoring: Pulse is the leading provider of marine structural monitoring services and has been providing highly successful monitoring systems.
Dan Simmons
Founder and Director of Quensus
Dr Dan Simmons has a Masters + PhD in Electrical Engineering, and is an expert in water sustainability, software development and wireless technologies. Based on this skill set, he founded Quensus in 2015, which shaped a step-change in the water-saving industry.
Follow Dan Simmons:
About Quensus: Water management system to monitor and control water infrastructure
Simon Illingworth
Managing Director and CEO of Blue Ocean Seismic Services
Simon Illingworth is the Managing Director and CEO at Blue Ocean Seismic Services.
Follow Simon Illingworth:
About Blue Ocean Seismic Services: Blue Ocean Seismic Services specializes in low cost and reduced carbon emission ocean bottom seismic acquisition.
Alessandro Pastore
Executive Director Business Development of Camfridge
Follow Alessandro Pastore:
About Camfridge: Camfridge is creating a new generation of low carbon cooling products.
Allan ‘Noel-edge’ Okello
CEO & Founder / Director of Plexus Wifi
Follow Allan ‘Noel-edge’ Okello:
About Plexus Wifi: City wide Solar powered payg wifi for African cities
