In October 2010 Mainstream announced the formation of its Offshore Advisory Committee to support the growth of its international offshore activities in the coming years.
The committee’s membership is drawn from leading industrialists with particular expertise in the energy sector. The committee has been specifically designed to draw on a spectrum of skills that covers all the key commercial, technical and legislative areas expected to be central to the development of the offshore wind sector in the future.
Back row from left: Sir Brian Bender, Andy Kinsella, Herbert Henzler, Fintan Whelan, Jeff Scott.
Seated from left: Vivienne Cox, Sir Roy Gardner (chairman), Eddie O’Connor.
The committee will offer insights into a wide range of issues, risks and opportunities including:
· Safe, timely and cost effective delivery of Mainstream’s 5.5GW offshore portfolio.
· Strategic management and expansion of that portfolio.
· Maximisation of shareholder value.
· Oversight of the day to day operation of the business.
The committee comprises:
· Sir Roy Gardner, non-executive director, Mainstream Renewable Power.
· Sir Brian Bender, former senior civil servant with DTI, Defra and EU experience.
· Herbert Henzler, economics professor and former head of McKinsey in Germany and Europe.
· Jeff Scott, former COO Transmission for National Grid in the USA and former director with National Grid UK Transmission.
· Vivienne Cox, Chairman, Climate Change Capital and former Executive Vice President, BP.
· Dr Eddie O’Connor, founder and Chief Executive, Mainstream Renewable Power.
· Andy Kinsella, Executive Director and CEO Offshore, Mainstream Renewable Power.
· Fintan Whelan, Co-founder and Corporate Finance Director, Mainstream Renewable Power.
Sir Roy Gardner, chairman of the new committee, commented: ‘I believe the timing is perfect for the creation of this committee. There has never been more momentum around the development of the UK’s offshore wind sector but at the same time those of us involved in the energy business as well as many other commentators are well aware of the significant challenges that stand before us as we look to build an industry of genuine scale on a commercially successful basis.
‘The members of the committee have been chosen for their particular expertise in key areas of the energy business that are highly relevant to the offshore sector’s needs. We have a clear remit – to support the development of the sector in a focused, value added fashion. We look forward to assisting the industry in whatever way we can as it looks to build a supply chain that will enable the UK to create a vibrant new manufacturing industry, meet its emissions targets, and establish the country as the world leader in the offshore wind sector.’
Mainstream and its joint venture partner Siemens recently announced it has secured grid connection for the first Gigawatt (GW) of its 4GW Hornsea offshore wind development off the Yorkshire coast.
Biographies of committee members:
Sir Roy Gardner, chairman
Sir Roy Gardner was appointed to the Board of Mainstream Renewable Power in June 2008. He is Chairman of Compass Group PLC, a Director of Willis Group Holdings Limited and a Senior Advisor at Credit Suisse. In addition, he is President of the Energy Institute, Chairman of the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Energy Futures Lab, Imperial College London. Prior to these appointments he was Chief Executive of Centrica plc.
Sir Roy was Managing Director of GEC Marconi Limited and was appointed to the Board of GEC in 1994. Prior to that he was Chief Operating Officer of Northern Telecom Europe Limited, previous to which he was Managing Director of STC Communications Systems and a member of the Board of STC plc. Sir Roy began his career at the British Aircraft Corporation where he worked in the Commercial Aircraft Division.
On 1st January 2000 Sir Roy was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Manchester United plc, and assumed the role of Non-Executive Chairman on 31st March 2002 until 6th June 2005. He was a Non-Executive Director of Laporte plc from December 1996 until the company’s takeover in April 2001.
Sir Roy is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants, the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Royal Society of Arts. He is also a Companion of the Institute of Management. Sir Roy was knighted in 2002 for services to the Gas and Electricity Industries.
Sir Brian Bender
Former civil servant, having been a Permanent Secretary for nearly 10 years. His final post was at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and before that DTI, from 2005. Previously, he was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, leading the creation of the Department in 2001, and before that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (2000/01), and Cabinet Office (1999/2000).
He has extensive EU experience, having twice served in the UK Permanent Representation to the EU and, from 1994-98, was Head of the European Secretariat in the Cabinet Office.
In addition to membership of Mainstream’s Offshore Advisory Committee, his portfolio includes Chairman of the London Metal Exchange, Governor of Dulwich College and of the Institute for Government, and Chairman of Honda’s European Communication and Consultation Group.
Born 1949. BSc and PhD in Physics, Imperial College. Married, with a daughter and a son.
Herbert Henzler
· Since 2002 Prof. Dr. Herbert Henzler is Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Credit Suisse Group; in 2006 he has been appointed to the Chairman of the Advisory Board of Credit Suisse Germany.
· Joined McKinsey’s in 1970 and since 1999 has been Member of the Office of the Managing Director of McKinsey and Company, Worldwide and Chairman Europe. Member of the Advisory Council of McKinsey & Company.
· 14 years as Chairman of McKinsey & Company, Inc.. Germany.
· 23 years as Lecturer in International Management at the University of Munich.
· Honorary professor of Strategy and Organization Consulting at the University of Munich since 1992.
· Post Graduate studies at the University of California at Berkley.
· Research Fellowship at the Institute for Statistics at the University of Munich (PhD in economics).
· Early career spent 3 years at Deutsche Shell AG as a wholesale Merchant followed by Studies at the Siegen/Westphalia College of Economics and study of business economics at the Universities of Saarbrucken and Munich
· Publications on the strategic management and organization of international corporations, economics, and socio-political issues.
· Between 2004 – 2009 Herbert Henzler was President of the Wissenschaftlich/- Technischen Beirats (WTB) of the Bavarian Government.
· Since 2010 Prof. Dr. Herbert Henzler is President of the new established Zukunftsrat of the Bavarian Government.
· Since 2002 Prof. Dr. Henzler has several Advisory Board functions i.e. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Mainstream Renewables, FC Bayern München and the Skolkovo Moscow Business School.
· Since November 2009 he is member of the supervisory board of HOCHTIEF Concessions AG.
Jeff Scott
Jeff has over 35 years experience in the energy industry. Most recently he was CEO of xoserve, the company that provides settlement and data management services to the UK gas industry, which is a joint venture between National Grid, Northern Gas Networks, Scotia Gas Networks and Wales & West Utilities. Prior to that, Jeff was Chief Operating Officer Transmission for National Grid in the US, based in Massachusetts and responsible for Transmission operations in New England, New York and GridAmerica in the mid-West. Before his US assignment, Jeff held various director level positions with National Grid in the UK including Director of Operations & Trading, where he was responsible for the operation of the UK power system, Commercial Director and Group Strategy Director.
Prior to joining National Grid in 1990, Jeff held several managerial positions with the UK Regional Electricity Company MANWEB where he played a key role in the privatization of the UK electricity industry. He later had a major involvement in the introduction of New Electricity Trading Arrangements as National Grid’s representative on the Ofgem/DTI steering groups between 1999 and 2001.
Jeff is a Chartered Engineer, holds a Master of Science degree in Systems & Control from the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Salford. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, a Fellow of the Energy Institute, and a Member of the Institute of Directors.
Vivienne Cox
Vivienne Cox is Chairman of Climate Change Capital and a non-executive Director of Rio Tinto plc and Vallourec SA. She is also on the board of INSEAD and an adjunct Professor at Imperial College.
In 2009 she retired from BP after spending 28 years in the company. Her last full time role was as the Executive Vice President of the Gas, Power and Renewables business. She was a member of the Executive Committee.
In 2005 Vivienne led the creation of BP Alternative Energy with the aim of becoming a major low carbon power producer and wholesaler by 2015. In 2008 BP expanded Alternative Energy to incorporate a broader range of renewable and alternative energy activities and doubled its annual investment rate to $1.5 billion.
A graduate of Oxford and INSEAD, in 2006 she was awarded the prestigious Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award. She is married with two young daughters.
Dr Eddie O’Connor
Eddie is Chief Executive of Mainstream Renewable Power which he set up in February 2008. He founded Airtricity in 1997 and was Chief Executive until 2008. In October 2007, Airtricity North America was sold to E.ON and the remainder of the company was sold to Scottish and Southern Energy in January 2008. The total business was sold for €1.8 billion.
Eddie brought forward the concept of the European Offshore Supergrid. This vision and activity will, when built, guarantee European energy self sufficiency as well as producing carbon free electricity.
He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Industrial Engineering and has a doctorate in Business Administration from the International Management Centres, Europe. In June 2008, Eddie was conferred with an honorary Doctorate of Science from University College Dublin.
In 2003, Eddie was named World Energy Policy Leader by Scientific American magazine. In September 2009, he was presented with the first ever Leadership award at the annual Ernst & Young Global Renewable Energy Awards.
He is Secretary of the European Wind Energy Association.
Andy Kinsella
Andy is Executive Director and CEO, Offshore for Mainstream Renewable Power. Andy has over 25 years experience in the global electricity sector in senior management positions with ESB, ESBI, Siemens and GE.
Before joining Mainstream, he was a member of ESB Power Generation’s Senior Management Team from which he resigned as Head of Strategy and Sustainability.
Prior to this, Andy was an Executive Director of ESB International where he had operational responsibility for ESBI’s global Engineering & Facility Management businesses. These businesses employed over 900 staff. In 2004 he completed projects in over 40 countries and operated over 5,000MW of independent generation plant outside of Ireland. The businesses provide a wide variety of consultancy, construction, project management, facility management, engineering and investment services to the Electricity Supply Industry globally.
Andy has also been a member of the Management Board of Siemens Ireland where he had operational responsibility for Siemens Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution, Transportation and Industry businesses in Ireland. He also spent five years with GE, based in Schnectady, New York, as a Project Director delivering large scale capital projects internationally in North America, the Middle East and Asia.
Andy is a graduate of University College Dublin (B.Eng. Electrical, Hons.), Trinity College Dublin (Dip. PM, Distinction) and Harvard Business School (Advanced Management Programme).
Fintan Whelan
In February 2008, Fintan co-founded Mainstream Renewable Power where he is Corporate Finance Director. Fintan spent eight years as Corporate Finance Manager for Airtricity, where right from the first project, he was involved in raising more than €1bn in project and corporate debt to fund the company’s development and build programme. He was responsible for designing new structures for the company’s evolving requirements, negotiated facilities in the banking and investor communities and diversified funding sources particularly for the critical area of non-government contracts. His responsibilities covered all markets in which Airtricity was active, including Europe, Offshore, the US and China.
Fintan qualified with a Commerce degree from University College Dublin in 1978, he is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Accountants (FCCA) and in 1996 got an MBS in Finance from UCD’s Smurfit School. Before joining Airtricity, Fintan was Chief Accountant and later Finance Manager with Prudential’s business in Ireland and was with Ernst & Young Consulting for three years, specialising in the area of financial management and modelling in Financial Services.
