Africa

Hein assumed the position of General Manager in 2016.  He has direct responsibility for projects in development, construction and operations including taking the lead on Mainstream’s Africa initiatives late in 2016.   

Since Hein joined Mainstream his roles have included project and business development through to construction. He has over ten years’ renewable energy experience.   

Hein trained as a mechanical engineer and built a successful career in delivering complex projects and new business initiatives leading multi-disciplinary teams of professionals. His experience covers rewarding enterprises in the automotive, rail, marine and energy industries. He has been one of the pioneers of the South African renewable energy industry and a board member of the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) from 2014 to 2018.

Shahida joined Mainstream South Africa in 2010 and helped establish the office in Cape Town. She has directly overseen the management and growth of the office including …….

Shahida has also been instrumental in managing Mainstream’s submissions into the South African Government’s Renewable Power Producers Process since it was set-up in 2011.

Previously, Shahida worked in Administration for the Dept of Environment for 4 years.

Shahida completed a Bachelor of Social Science degree at University of Cape Town.

Lindsay joined the Mainstream team in October 2018.  Her core function is supporting all employees in the South African business to ensure HR best practice. Previously, she consulted to Mainstream as a Recruitment Manager from 2012 to 2018.

Lindsay has over 18 years’ experience in the recruitment and executive search consulting profession and developed core skills in interviewing, assessments, business consulting, research and project management.

She holds a Certificate in Human Resource Management from the University of Cape Town and a Diploma in Public Relations and Business Communication from Damelin College, Cape Town.  Lindsay is currently studying a Social Sciences degree, majoring in Psychology and HR at the South African College of Applied Psychology.

Eugene heads up the development function for Africa. He manages the project portfolio and is responsible for the complete project development lifecycle from pre-feasibility to start of construction.

Eugene joined Mainstream in 2011 and has worked in project development roles during that times. He has almost 25 years’ experience in planning, environmental and project management related roles in the private and public sector including ten years with Mayo County Council in Ireland as Executive Planner.

Eugene has a B.Art et Scien. Degree in town and regional planning.

He is also a registered Project Management Professional with PMI. 

Titania joined Mainstream in April 2019 and heads up the Economic Development and Socio-Economic Development function for South Africa. She is responsible for managing the ED & SED team and their outputs according to the requirements of the Department of Energy and the project Boards.

Her 25 years’ experience includes community and governmental stakeholder engagement, transformation, enterprise development, supplier development, socio economic development, sustainability, GRI, SRI, Carbon Disclosure Project, UNGC company reporting, implementation of human rights principles, project management, process and plant engineering, operation management, marketing relations, product quality, health, safety and environmental management, risk management, human resource management, industrial relations, employer representation at arbitration, mediation and conciliation cases at CCMA, skills development, employment equity.

She holds a MTech degree in Business Administration and a BTech degree in Chemical Engineering. She is on the Cape Peninsula of Technology’s Chemical Engineering Advisory Board.

Chris joined Mainstream Renewable Power in 2015 as Grid Manager, South Africa.

He previously worked with Eskom for 25 years where he specialised in Power System Generation, Operation and Control.  Chris is Chairman of the SAWEA Technical Working Group, a member of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) and a member of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE).

He holds a Masters Degree in Technology.

Liesl joined Mainstream in February 2019 and works directly with the South African team to ensure health and safety in all work activities.  Liesl works with site staff and contractors to ensure safe execution of projects and operations to ensure compliance to the local legislation, company standards and best industry practices.

She has 17 years’ experience in chemical manufacturing, the oil & gas and petroleum sectors and consulting focusing on safety, health and the environment.

Liesl holds a Masters’ in Environmental Management and a BTech Environmental Health. She is registered with the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP) registered as Construction Health and Safety Agent and a graduate member with the South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (SAIOSH). 

Candice joined Mainstream in April 2014 as Financial Accountant responsible for managing the finances of the Round 3 projects through the construction phase from financial close into operations. She was promoted to Finance Manager in April 2020 during which time she looked after the full finance function of the Round 4 projects, assisting with the financial close process and taking them through construction to commercial operation in late 2020.

She started her career in London working for a Music Publishing Company followed by an internal finance role at PricewaterhouseCoopers before relocating back to South Africa and joining Mainstream.

Candice studied a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Financial Accounting at the University of Stellenbosch and gained her CIMA qualification in 2011.

Matthew joined Mainstream in 2021 as Head of Commercial, Africa. In this role, Matthew leads the commercial function to secure PPA’s for wind and solar PV projects, involving tendering, structuring, negotiation, due diligence and ultimately close.

Before Mainstream, Matthew worked at Eaglestone Capital Advisory, a project finance advisory boutique. During this period, Matthew advised several power and infrastructure clients on several corporate and project finance transactions across Africa. Previously, he was employed by Macquarie Capital Johannesburg, as part of the infrastructure sector team specialising in financial modelling, transaction and debt and equity procurement advisory. 

Matthew is a Chartered Accountant, and a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.  He holds a Bachelor of Business Science, Finance Honours Degree, together with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Cape Town.