RI Cruden, established in 2005 has specialised in Renewable energy since 2011, now with a team across Mechanical, Electrical and Renewable Energy Industry.
I am passionate about accelerating the transition to clean and renewable energy sources and training the next generation. As a former apprentice myself, I am extremely proud of the award-winning apprenticeship program we have developed at RI Cruden to help fill our own skills and labour shortage.
I am a Sustainability Ambassador for the Institute of Directors (IOD).
Kateryna McKinnon is Development Manager in the Offshore Wind Development team at Crown
Estate Scotland.
Educated in Ukraine as an Economist, Kateryna has worked in economic development in Scotland for
over 15 years. Her experience spans across research and economics, energy and supply chain
development, European and International policy and engagement (with a particular focus on the
Arctic region).
She currently focusses on managing a portfolio of seabed option to lease agreements for offshore
wind, including pre-ScotWind, ScotWind and INTOG Innovation projects.
Gareth was one of the founding creators of the ReFLEX integrated and smart local energy system which was supported through the IUK Prospering From the Energy Revolution programme. Gareth has worked as an environmental and sustainable energy consultant from his Stromness base for 35 years. He has worked all over the world and across a wide range of technologies. He passionately believes that we need new energy system models to best match the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s energy, climate and community challenges.
Peter Dennis is a project manager with Wave Energy Scotland (WES), supporting contractors to deliver innovative engineering in the wave energy sector. He has a background in civil engineering, IT, local government and micro-renewables, and is now focussed on helping WES achieve its aim of bringing utility scale wave energy to Scotland and beyond.
Lewis is responsible for Statera's operational portfolio of flexible energy assets and policy. Statera deploys assets critical to supporting the transition to a renewable-led energy system, with a focus on energy storage, hydrogen and dispatchable generation. Statera's portfolio currently stands at 1,200MW of UK-based energy assets either operational or under-construction. Prior to Statera, Lewis worked at RWE, with a total of 13 years working directly in the UK energy transition.
Isla is Managing Director of Opergy Scotland, a clean energy consultancy. Working with the public and private sector, supporting growth and knowledge sharing
Derek is Growth and Inward Investment Manager at national skills agency Skills Development Scotland, working with employers to provide tailored support around training and funding, workforce development and talent attraction. Derek has supported a broad range of businesses and projects across the region including Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.
David is a Mechanical Engineer, who initially undertook process scopes across new Oil and Gas construction and brownfield projects across Australia and latterly the UKCS.
He transitioned to the offshore wind industry in 2014, initially working on cable route preparation, followed by project management and offshore execution assisting with Foundation Installation for Offshore Wind and Oil & Gas across Europe and the Middle East.
David returned to the Highlands in 2019 to help build the Renewables Service and Training Capability within Aurora.
Karel is a corporate development executive with over 25 years of international experience across
diverse industries. He has spent the last 15 years in ports and shipping, including APM Terminals and
V.Group, before joining ABP in 2022. At ABP, Karel is responsible for accelerating growth of the
business, with particular emphasis on energy transition. In addition to engagement with Celtic Sea
offshore wind developers and development of commercial strategy for ABP’s Port Talbot floating
offshore wind facility, Karel has led ABP’s entry into Cromarty Firth, the future hub for floating
offshore wind in Scotland.
Ian Kinnaird is the Scottish Assets & Generation Engineering Director at Drax Hydro, leading all Drax
Group business activities in Scotland, including the recently announced £80m Cruachan 3&4
upgrade and liaison on the development works associated with Cruachan 2 Pumped Storage
Scheme.
His career has been built on a mixture of key roles within Engineering, Maintenance and Production
which has also given him exposure to all aspects of Health & Safety, Environmental Management
and Compliance. Previous roles in the Energy sector include Engineering Manager for a fleet of
CCGT assets and Production Manager at one of the UK’s largest coal fired power stations, managing
this to closure in 2016.
Ian is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer having graduated in 1996 with a degree in Mechanical
Engineering. In his spare time, Ian enjoys international travel and challenging himself to improve at
golf.
Raymond Bremner was elected Leader of the Highland Council in May 2022, having first been elected in 2017, and was Leader of the Opposition in the last administration. He is also a member of the Convention of the Highlands & Islands and a member of the Scottish Cities Alliance.
Raymond is a Caithness Councillor, for the Wick and East Caithness Ward, having grown up in the North, and a keen musician and choir conductor.
Prior to joining the Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, Calum was with Robertson Group, laterally in a UK-wide role leading the Capital Project business. He has also previously worked with Highlands & Islands Enterprise in a number of roles including Area Manager for the Moray region where he led a range of business, infrastructure and community development initiatives.
Rachel joined SSE in 2007 and has been responsible for sustainability, including climate change, since 2013. Rachel is a non-Executive Director of SSEN Transmission, the SSE joint venture that owns and operates the electricity transmission network in the north of Scotland. External to SSE, Rachel pursues a series of social and environmental issues, as a Board member of the Fair Tax Foundation, a Commissioner on the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Commission and Chair of WWF Scotland’s Advisory Council. Prior to working for SSE, Rachel was the Senior Special Adviser to Scotland’s First Minister between 2001 and 2007. She has a first degree in Applied Economics and a Masters in International Political Thought.
Stuart’s role is to lead the contracting and build-out of the proposed £multi-billion West of Orkney offshore wind project which has now submitted its offshore consent applications to Scottish Ministers and its onshore planning application to The Highland Council. With an expected capacity of around 2GW, and first power scheduled for 2029, the project will be capable of powering the equivalent of more than two million homes.
Previously, Stuart was Technical Director Offshore Wind at TotalEnergies, and brings a 25-year track record in the offshore energy sector, having held senior management positions with a number of major operators. Stuart’s responsibilities include working closely with the windfarm’s expert team to crystallise the project design and liaising with the ports, harbours and tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers who will be crucial in bringing this ambitious vision to life.
The West of Orkney Windfarm is targeting 60 percent UK content over its lifetime, with 40 percent in Scotland. This will drive skills development and create opportunities for businesses and organisations in Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney, across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Frank started in renewables 18 years ago, working for Nuon and then Vattenfall. Frank has performed in various parts of the business, primarily as a Project Manager. He began his renewables career in Onshore Development, before moving into Offshore Development on the East Anglia zone and then subsequently moving into the Offshore Construction team of the project. From Offshore Construction he moved into Onshore Construction and became the Construction Manager for Pen-y-Cymoedd Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in England and Wales. Following the completion of the project Frank moved into management as Head of Construction Management and in 2019 he completed the circle back into development to head up the Market Development team for Onshore Wind. Frank currently leads a team of project managers working on a broad portfolio of Onshore Wind projects across Scotland, and the rest of the UK, in various stages of development.
Nicola McAlley is a broadcaster and journalist who has been the Highlands, Islands & Moray reporter for STV News for 24 years, covering an area larger than Belgium. Her remit sees her cover everything from breaking news to sport to the occasional 'And Finally' and highlights include spending a week on uninhabited St Kilda, boarding a nuclear submarine and being dangled from a helicopter onto a moving lifeboat on the Sound of Raasay.
She was recently appointed Chair of the Highlands & Islands Media Awards and also regularly hosts corporate and charity events.
Nicola is an Ambassador for charities Highland Hospice and Keiran's Legacy and also fundraises for Dream, Believe, Achieve Highland, helping fund therapies for children with additional support needs. She also organises events for Step Up For Sam which facilitates treatment for her young nephew who has multiple complex needs.
Christianna is the Director of Customers and Stakeholders at Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission. Christianna and her team work to deliver a net zero future by connecting low carbon generators across the north of Scotland and supporting those already connected. They also work with Stakeholders to deliver best outcomes for customers and society from the energy system. Christianna has spent over fourteen years in the energy industry working on strategy and business development, futures and innovation. She moved into electricity transmission in 2016 to help deliver a smart sustainable system.
Morven Fancey is Head of Housing, Skills & Population at Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) - the regional economic development agency for the northern half of Scotland - where she has over 30 years’ experience of economic and regional development. Her current responsibilities include supporting the development of the university and skills system in line with regional needs and developing HIE’s approach to addressing depopulation, with a strong emphasis on housing.
Gillian Martin grew up in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire. Prior to her role as an MSP, she lectured in Television Production at North East Scotland College and ran her own video production company. She also designed safety courses for the energy industry and was the manager of an emergency media response team for companies operating in the North Sea for 10 years.
Ms Martin was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament to represent Aberdeenshire East in 2016. She was appointed as Minister for Energy and the Environment in March 2023, and Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work in February 2024.
Malcolm MacLeod was appointed Assistant Chief Executive (Place), of The Highland Council, in April 2024. His role combines Community and Place, Housing and Property, and Infrastructure, Environment and Economy Services. Malcolm MacLeod was previously the Council’s Interim Depute Chief Executive from February to September 2023. In October 2019 he was appointed as Executive Chief Officer - Infrastructure and Environment. Originally from Stornoway in the Western Isles, Malcolm has been the Council’s Head of Planning and Environment for the last 7 years and has worked in the Highlands for over 20 years.
