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Venterra Group - Helping the world's energy

Geoscience Expertise

Why Choose
Venterra Geoscience?

At Venterra Geoscience, we provide an integrated, end-to-end geoscience service, supporting feasibility, constraint analysis, site characterisation, and risk management for offshore renewable projects. By seamlessly combining geophysical, geotechnical, geospatial, environmental, and risk management expertise, we enhance efficiency and reduce risk, delivering results greater than any single discipline alone.

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Key Services

Integrated assessments of geological, environmental, and UXO constraints to uncover hidden risks and deliver consistent, time-efficient project location insights.

Multi Disciplinary Site Characterisation

Specialist UXO and CWA risk mitigation for offshore projects, using a data-led, geoscience-based, solutions to maximise safety and minimise disruption.

UXO Risk Management

Advanced ground models integrating geophysical, hydrographic, and geotechnical data to inform safe, efficient offshore wind and cable route development.

Integrated Ground Modelling

Expert analysis of metocean conditions, scour, and seabed morphology to support engineering design, consent applications, and environmental impact studies.

Coastal & Marine Processes

End-to-end management of geophysical and geotechnical surveys, ensuring quality data delivery, risk reduction, and seamless project execution.

Survey Management & Field Operations

Holistic hazard assessment and certification process to reduce risks to ALARP levels, enhancing safety and compliance across offshore developments.

Multi Disciplinary ALARP Sign-Off

Excellence in Offshore Wind

800+

Employees

34

Countries in which we operate

270 GW

Expected capacity of global offshore wind by 2030

Working with Industry Leaders

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Key Projects

Arklow Bank Offshore Wind Farm

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North Irish Sea Array

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Baltica 2 & 3

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Contact Information

Keith Higgins

Geoscience Key Client Advisor

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Arklow Bank Offshore Wind Farm

Client: SSE

Work completed: Undertook desktop studies, UXO risk management consultancy, ALARP certification, sediment mobility assessment, pre-construction foreshore licencing, ground modelling and survey management.

North Irish Sea Array

Client: Statkraft Ireland

Work completed: Provided desktop studies, UXO risk management consultancy, ALARP certification, survey management, ground modelling, geotechnical interpretation, foundation concept design, cable engineering, geohazards and shallow gas along with seabed mobility studies.

Baltica 2 & 3

Client: PGE

Work completed: Undertook desktop studies, UXO risk management consultancy, ALARP certification, shallow geotechnical data review, ground modelling, interpretation of site investigation data, residual risk management and concept engineering.

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Michael De Rhune

Chief Financial Officer

With over 35 years of financial expertise, including two decades in the energy sector, Michael De Rhune brings invaluable knowledge and leadership to the group. In his most recent role as Group CFO at Coretrax and in previous CFO roles he successfully led multiple merger and acquisition transactions from initiation to integration.

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Naver Energy

About

Naver Energy is a team of renewable energy professionals with decades of experience gained working with OEMs, developers, utilities, engineering and consultancy companies.

All of this accumulated know-how shapes its mission statement: Your Project – Our Craft. Naver Energy, backed by Venterra Group, was founded in 2022 by industry experts with an accumulated 100+ years of wind energy experience. Naver Energy has established itself as a global offshore wind consultancy, working on several projects in EMEA and APAC, and focusing its effort to enter the AMER market. Naver Energy’s focus is to provide expert consultancy services within the areas of Engineering, Procurement, Contracting, Project and Package Management within the renewables sector, primarily focusing on wind and PtX projects.

Contact

Jacob Christensen
Managing Director
Email: jst@naverenergy.com

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FoundOcean

About

FoundOcean originated in the Wimpey organisation in the 1960s where it helped introduce the concept of repairing and securing subsea and marine foundations and structures by using cement.

Over six decades later, FoundOcean has developed into the world’s largest dedicated offshore construction grouting company.

Through the provision of life extension solutions for offshore assets – including freespan correction of pipelines and cables, pipeline rehabilitation, and jacket strengthening and repair – the company remains the energy industry’s first choice in the facilitation of new and innovative materials to market.

Contact

Andrew Venn
Sales Director
Email: Andrew.venn@foundocean.com

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Balltec

About

Balltec has established a strong reputation for providing effective and reliable solutions for lifting, mooring and connecting for the renewable energy industries and offshore oil and gas.

The company has built on the success of it’s core products, the MoorLOK subsea mooring connector, the PipeLOK pipeline recovery tool, the BendLOK diverless bend stiffener connector and LiftLOK heavy lifting tools.

An experienced team of design engineers, project managers, assembly/installation technicians allows Balltec to execute entire projects from initial concept, through detail design, manufacture, assembly, testing and offshore installation.

Contact

Rob Barber
Sales Manager
Email: info@balltec.com

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CAPE Holland

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Osbit

About
Osbit is a world leader in custom-made mission equipment and has been enabling offshore wind installation projects in challenging offshore environments since 2010. Osbit supplies systems for a range of operations including subsea trenching, cable lay, installation, and cable testing, combined with state-of-the-art asset monitoring software to ensure efficient asset mobilisation and preventative maintenance. Headquartered in North East England, a prominent offshore engineering hub, the company also operates in the Netherlands and USA, and mobilises assembly teams across the world.
Contact

Jason Brighton
Global Business Development
Email: Jason.brighton@osbit.com

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United Kingdom and Europe

Aarhus

Tom Nicolaisen, Naver
tni@naverenergy.com

Belfast

Diarmuid O’Loan, GDG
doloan@gdgeo.com

Cork

Tim O’Shea, GDG
toshea@gdgeo.com

Dublin

Paul Quigley, GDG
pquigley@gdgeo.com

Edinburgh

Brian McMeekin, GDG
bmcmeekin@gdgeo.com

Jason Brighton, Osbit
jason.brighton@osbit.com

Glasgow

Livingston

Andrew Venn, FoundOcean
andrew.venn@foundocean.com

London

Richard Pike, GDG
rpike@gdgeo.com

Utrecht

Northumberland

Jason Brighton, ​​​​​Osbit
jason.brighton@osbit.com

Devon

Sam Athey, Partrac
sam.athey@partrac.com

Daniella Peck, Partrac 
pdaniella.peck@partrac.com 

Newcastle upon Tyne

Morecambe

Rob Barber, Balltec
rbarber@balltec.com
 
Jonathan Jackson, Balltec
jjackson@balltec.com

Hethel

Lee Gooderham, Ordtek
lee.gooderham@ordtek.com

Rotterdam

Jürgen Zijlmans, Osbit
jurgen.zijlmans@osbit.com

Ślesin

Pawel Narozny, GDG
pnarozny@gdgeo.com
 

Far North Offshore Wind Monitoring: Korsnäs

Client: Vattenfall

Work completed: Supporting offshore wind project in Finland (62.75 degrees north) over two winters. During the first winter, we deployed three ADCP frames in water depths ranging from 15m to 35m, measuring ice thicknesses of up to 2m depth.

Measurements include the full directional wave spectrum, water column profiles of current speed and direction, sea ice thickness and its velocity, salinity, water temperature, and turbidity (via water sampling).

OCEAN.DAT Celtic Sea Metocean and Seabed Atlas

Client: The Crown Estate

Work completed: Developed a comprehensive metocean and seabed atlas for the Celtic Sea region, featuring over 100 geospatial representations of metocean parameters and over 500 40-year hindcast datasets, including sediment mobility data. This resource is calibrated and verified using in-situ datasets to provide robust data for project planning.

Measurement Campaign:

  • Wind Measurement & FLiDAR Deployment: Conducting precise wind measurements to assess site feasibility and economic potential.
  • Metocean Measurement: Delivering detailed metocean data to support project design, installation planning, and environmental compliance.
  • Equipment: Four FLiDARs (three deployed, one spare), wave buoys, ADCPs, and additional environmental monitoring sensors

Green Volt Offshore Wind Farm, UK INTOG Site

Client: Flotation Energy/Várgronn

Work completed: Deployed two Floating LiDARs for precise wind resource measurement and deployed ‘marine growth plates’ on the moorings to test the susceptibility of different underwater cabling materials to marine growth. Additionally, deployed a Triaxys buoy to measure waves and current profiles, together with a subsea ADCP mooring for detailed current profiles, all of which contributes to optimised wind farm design and operations.

Greenock Ocean Terminal

Client: Roadbridge

Work completed: Detailed design of new dedicated cruise liner berth at Greenock Ocean Terminal. Provided designs of basis statement, geotechnical interpretive reporting and technical advice on site.

Hai Long

Client: Semco Maritime and PTSC M&C

Work completed: Provided geotechnical and geophysical Owner’s Engineer service. This included site investigation management, geotechnical interpretation, seismic loading and liquefaction assessments, detailed design of offshore substation foundation, vibro-driving feasibility assessments and pile design, seabed mobility and scour assessments, client representatives.

Project partners: Northland Power, Mitsui and Gentari.

Beinn an Tuirc

Client: Roadbridge

Work completed: Provided civil and structural design services for Scottish Power’s Beinn an Tuirc Windfarm Phase III. Undertook detailed structural design of substation control building, WTG foundation including structural and geotechnical design, detailed crane hardstanding design, access tracks design, drainage design, specification, inspection and testing plan, borrow pit assessment and temporary works.

Codling Wind Park

Client: Codling

Work completed: Undertook survey management, geotechnical support (onshore and offshore), geophysical interpretation, ground model development, scour assessment and scour protection design.

Project partners: EDF and Fred Olsen.

Ireland’s South Coast

Client: Irish Government

Work completed: As Technical Advisors, we identified maritime areas for bottom-fixed offshore wind development zones. This included review of ecological and environmental heat mapping, development of a zone identification methodology and review of the plan, policies and associated SEA and plan level Appropriate Assessment.

Australian OWF

Client: Identification, Permitting, and Technical Advisor

Work completed: Identification and refinement of four offshore wind projects off Western Australia; Leeuwin, Midwest, Samphire, and Velella. Definition of project descriptions and in collaboration with a local partner, submission of referral applications to the Australian authorities to obtain guidance on proposals as well as the level of environmental assessment required in preparing development consent applications.

Setanta Wind Park Offshore & Onshore

Client: SSE Renewables

Work completed: Produced an EIA Scoping Report to characterise the physical, biological, and socio-economic environment. This included a detailed analysis of the marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Identified potential environmental impacts across all relevant receptors, including marine life, bird populations, and human communities, and developed preliminary mitigation measures.

Rosslare Offshore Wind Hub

Client: Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail)

Work completed: As EIA and AA lead, we are responsible for planning and attainment of development consent. Scoped, specified and managed delivery of environmental site surveys, including ornithology, marine mammals, benthic ecology, terrestrial ecology, metocean, geophysical, geotechnical, site walkovers and topographical.

South Fork Offshore Wind Farm

Client: Orsted

Work completed: Provided environmental assessment, regulatory and public engagement support services for the siting, permitting, and post-construction monitoring, since 2017.

Undertook benthic assessment with SPI/PV, habitat mapping, public outreach (including fisheries and Native American tribes), fisheries surveys and development and implementation of post-construction benthic and fisheries monitoring plans.

Irish Maritime Area Consent

Client: Irish Government

Work completed: Contracted by the Irish Government to develop robust technical criteria and assessment process for obtaining Maritime Area Consent in compliance with relevant national and EU regulations and guidelines.

Undertook a technical assessment of the information provided by each applicant and independently verified claims made in application documentation.

INFOMAR Seabed Mapping Programme

Client: Geological Survey Ireland / Irish Government

Work completed: Comprehensive review of the INFOMAR survey programme to assess its suitability for the offshore renewable energy industry.

Undertook stakeholder engagement, technical review of survey data and gap analysis focused on the data requirements for site identification and risk reduction.

Rosslare Offshore Renewable Energy Hub

Client: Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail)

Work completed: Provided specialist planning and consenting services together with stakeholder engagement services for a new installation and marshalling port for offshore wind at Rosslare in Ireland.


This included advice on planning and seabed leasing as well as engagement with government departments, statutory stakeholders, the ORE industry, fisheries and the public.

Irelands South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan

Client: Irish Government

Work completed: Supported the Irish Government to identify four development zones for bottom-fixed offshore wind farms as part of the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan.


This included consulting services and input into the DMAP documentation including technical notes on offshore wind supply chain, transmission system limitations and marine spatial planning. The primary scope was to delineate the final maritime areas for development. These development areas were identified through a location assessment exercise.

David Crowther

Group General Counsel

David brings 25 years of corporate experience in the energy and high growth sectors. He worked at BP plc for 11 years in a variety of roles including Group Corporate & Legal Manager before moving to Paysafe, a payment services business. During his seven years with Paysafe, he built its corporate and company secretarial team and managed its successful NYSE listing in 2021. Previously, David worked as a lawyer at Linklaters in London.

David is a qualified solicitor and graduate of the University of Oxford.

Jonathan Bull

Managing Director, GDG

Jonathan is a seasoned Chartered Engineer with a 27-year track record in the renewable energy sector. His approach to leadership is based on a team-first attitude, where he brings together diverse skill sets to achieve collective goals.

As a strategic thinker, he possesses a keen commercial awareness, allowing him to navigate market dynamics effectively. Jonathan’s commitment to a collaborative work environment, strategic outlook, and commercial insight make him an invaluable asset. His leadership drives successful outcomes and fosters a culture of inclusivity and shared success, positioning him as a leader who is as invested in people as he is in results.

Prior to GDG, Jonathan held senior roles at Atkins and Royal HaskoningDHV.

Kerr Wright

Managing Director, FoundOcean

After graduating from the University of Glasgow in 2011, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Kerr started his career working in the Telecoms sector as a Site Engineer for May Gurney offering a variety of services to customers including maintenance, installation, and decommissioning of new and existing structures and telecoms structures all around Scotland.

In 2012, Kerr moved to FoundOcean Ltd, starting as a Project Engineer, working out of the Marlow office. Management of multiple large-scale projects soon followed as did a move to Livingston to take over the mechanical engineering manager position. Following a three-year period as Projects Manager, Kerr assumed the position of Director of Operations, responsible for all FoundOcean’s onshore and offshore operations. In March 2024, Kerr was appointed Managing Director. 

Kerr has directly managed some of FoundOcean’s largest projects, such as West of Duddon Sands, Solan, Martin Linge, Brent Bravo Lift Points as well as providing technical guidance and oversight on projects such as Hohe See OWF, Beatrice OWF, and East Anglia One OWF.

Derek Donaldson

Chief Executive Officer, Oceanscan

With over 20 years of experience in the marine technology sector, Derek Donaldson has held various leadership roles, including a significant tenure at Seatronics, where he served as Group Managing Director before transitioning to Oceanscan. Donaldson’s expertise encompasses operational management and strategic development within the offshore industry, making him a key figure in promoting innovative solutions in subsea operations. His leadership is characterised by a commitment to enhancing safety and efficiency in marine operations.

Laurens de Neef

Managing Director, CAPE Holland

Laurens is the 5th generation of the “de Neef family” in the piling industry. His father started CAPE Holland back in 2002 together with Laurens, just after Laurens graduated his bachelor degree in economics. Over the years, he has worked on all sides of the business, and he became CEO in 2014.

Brendon Hayward

Joint Managing Director, Osbit

Brendon is a committed engineer with over 20 years of experience in OEMs within the offshore, industrial, and military sectors, and over ten years’ experience in creating, leading, and growing companies and organisations. Brendon co-founded Osbit in 2010 and has led a number of key projects for the offshore wind industry, including the development of Osbit’s ground-breaking asset software package and safety assessment framework.

Brendon is a board member of the Entrepreneurs Forum, Chairman of a local youth charity and is passionate about developing organisational cultures and people.

Lee Gooderham

Managing Director, Ordtek

Lee Gooderham has taking the specialist consultancy practice (Ordtek Limited) from start-up to one of the most recognised UXO specialist in the World. He has spent over 23 years executing UXO risk management on energy, and construction, related projects on land and within the marine environment. His principal role has been to guide clients’ through the evolving landscape with all matters relating to UXO, from satisfying regulatory requirements to brokering technical solutions with installation contractors. While supporting a range of sectors, he has been most influential in the offshore renewable industry where the Ordtek approach is considered industry best practice. Throughout his career Lee has routinely been involved with industry guidance and best practice documentation that has shaped the wider UXO management processes including work with CIRIA, AWEA and the Carbon Trust.

Jeanine Boyle

Managing Director, INSPIRE Environmental

Jeanine has more than 25 years’ experience in environmental consulting.

At Battelle Memorial Institute, a global not-for-profit R&D organization, Jeanine managed offshore marine survey work – first as a field scientist, and then as a Resource Manager and Line of Business Leader.

As the Environmental Business Line Leader under Battelle’s National Security Division, Jeanine was responsible for integration of Battelle resources across multiple business lines. Reporting to senior management and an external National Security Science Advisory Board, Jeanine was responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to drive revenue of approximately $55M annually.

While at Battelle, Jeanine coordinated research teams from the US DOE National Laboratories, universities and industry to successfully execute two R&D projects to develop advanced technologies to meet global water demands.

Jeanine joined INSPIRE in 2015, where she leads management to support growth and drive efficiency while maintaining the highly creative and innovative culture that INSPIRE is known for. 

Robbie Blakeman

Joint Managing Director, Osbit

Robbie has over 20 years of experience in leading the development and implementation of pioneering engineering systems in the offshore wind, oil & gas, and automotive industries. He joined Osbit in 2011 and became a director in 2013. Prior to this, Robbie was Head of Solutions at IHC Engineering Business (now Royal IHC) and held key technical roles in a number of world-first offshore wind projects.

Robbie holds an MEng in Mechanical and Automotive Engineering from Newcastle University and is dedicated to developing engineering talent and excellence.

Russell Benson

Managing Director, Balltec

As a founder member of Balltec in 2004, Russell’s expertise and knowledge of the company is extensive. After being instrumental in the company’s early growth, Russell was made Project Director in 2008 and became Managing Director in 2011.

He took the decision to pivot to offshore wind during the downturn of the oil and gas industry. This started with the product development of connectors for cable protection systems and adaptation of Balltec’s well-established lifting systems. These steps have resulted in offshore wind and oil and gas decommissioning becoming the company’s largest business sectors.

Balltec’s products have significantly reduced the installation times for wind farm foundations, reducing costs and the environmental impact of installation vessels.

Sam Athey

Managing Director, Partrac

Sam is a founding Director of Partrac and is our Commercial Director. He is responsible for a range of functions including commercial strategy, finance and tendering. A strategic thinker, Sam has developed the company structure, building a resilient team that focuses on serving the growing offshore renewables industry.

Sam has developed Partrac’s capability to safely deliver oceanographic and wind resource measurement campaigns. He has directed numerous measurement projects for the offshore wind sector, including floating offshore wind and real-time metocean monitoring for offshore construction. Over the past six years, Sam has also led floating LiDAR projects, delivering high-quality wind resource data that has underpinned the viability of offshore wind investment decisions.

Sam’s extensive metocean and offshore wind experience, combined with his client-first approach to project delivery, has underpinned Partrac’s success in the offshore renewables sector.

Warren Price

Group Chief Information Officer

Warren is a certified and accomplished IT Executive, CIO, CTO, CDO, and CISO, with more than 25 years of international experience creating and delivering enterprise-wide IT strategies to ensure safe, secure, and reliable day-to-day operations, whilst equally ensuring cost efficiencies. He was formerly Head of Growth at Rothian and Head of Global Customer Experience at Petrofac.

Claudette Monaghan

Chief People & Culture Officer

Claudette Monaghan is a senior international leader, who prior to Venterra, worked for Vattenfall Wind Power Ltd, as Vice President People & Culture.

Throughout her career, spanning over 28 years, Claudette has lived and worked in different countries in global roles, across different industries. Including companies in logistics, pharmaceutical, media, financial accounting, nuclear and renewable energy.

Claudette is MCIPD qualified and holds an MBA qualification from Northumbria university. She thrives in an environment where she is juggling multiple priorities and believes in having fun, while contributing towards the future of an organisation.

David Matthews

Chief Commercial Officer

David Matthews is a respected figure in the renewables industry, with over 15 years’ experience in the offshore wind sector. He has held senior level positions at companies including Clarksons, AREVA, Vestas, GE Renewables and Fred. Olsen Windcarrier, as well as completing a six-year tenure on the Board of RenewableUK.

David is a graduate of the University of Lancaster.

Tony Inglis

Group Development Director

Tony has 35 years’ experience of business building in subsea construction companies, the last ten years predominantly in windfarm cable, foundations and turbine installation. Until October 2018, held the role of MD of MPI Offshore, a wind farm structures installer (then acquired by Van Oord Offshore Wind).

Tony is a graduate of the University of Western Australia.

Paul Doherty

Chief Commercial & Growth Officer

Founder of Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions in 2011 and as Managing Director has developed GDG into an international consultancy firm that has developed and led a team of over 150 engineers and scientists who provide value engineering design to projects across the world. 

A Chartered Civil Engineer, a Ph.D. qualified Geotechnical Engineer, and a fellow of the Association of Consulting Engineers in Ireland as well as an active member of the Deep Foundation Institute (DFI) technical committees for “Marine Foundations” and “Driven Piling”. 

With an extensive career background in offshore wind projects and renewable energy
developments, where he has worked on over 35GW of offshore wind projects in countries
around the world. His focus has primarily been related to mitigating ground risk and the
design/optimisation of offshore foundations and cable installations. 

Claire Binns

Group Director of HSSEQ

Claire brings over 23 years’ experience in the HSSEQ discipline, predominantly in the oil & gas, renewables, and engineering sectors.

Prior to that she held the role of UK HSEQ Director of leading engineering and industrial service provider, Bilfinger UK Ltd. Previously she was Group HSEQS Director for leading subsea services provider DeepOcean Group where she worked for 13 years.

Her experience spans across global cultures improving HSSEQ engagement, performance and implementing ISO HSEQ management standards in diverse businesses that had frequently been acquired and were building international operations.

Claire has held chartered status with the Institute of Occupational Health since 2002 and is a member of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management. She holds a diploma in Occupational Safety and Health and a diploma in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Behavioural Safety.  

Ivan Ronald

Chief Financial Officer

Ivan has over 25 years of experience in Financial Leadership and Management across a range of sectors including Aerospace, Energy, Services, Technology, Engineering and Healthcare.

He was most recently Chief Financial Officer of GKN Aerospace, a Melrose Industries company, and before that held roles in Centrica, IMI and AstraZeneca.

Ivan holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics from University of Warwick and completed his CIMA Examinations on the AstraZeneca Graduate Programme.

Duncan Palmer

Non-Executive Director

Duncan Palmer is an experienced chief financial officer of major international businesses listed in both the US and UK.

His career started with 20 years at Shell where he held various senior finance roles. In 2007 he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), a leading global fibreglass manufacturer. Owens Corning is a major supplier of high performance materials to wind blade manufacturers.

In 2012 he became Finance Director of RELX PLC, a FTSE30 provider of information based analytics and professional data. In 2014 he took on the Chief Financial Officer role, initially at DTZ and subsequently Cushman and Wakefield (NYSE:CWK), a leading global commercial real estate services firm. He was responsible for post-merger integration and then led the company’s IPO in 2018 on the NYSE, raising $1billion in additional capital.

Having managed Cushman’s finances through the pandemic in 2020, Duncan retired in 2021. He lives in Chicago and is an Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair at Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), the specialty vehicles business.

Duncan received his Master of Arts from Cambridge University and his Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Alex Krueger

Non-Executive Director

Alex is President and Chief Executive Officer of First Reserve, a global middle-market private equity firm with a focus on the industrials, infrastructure, and energy sectors. He has over 20 years of energy investment experience and is responsible for overall investment, asset management, strategic planning, and operations of First Reserve and its funds, as well as leading its internal ESG Group.  Prior to joining First Reserve, Alex worked in the energy group of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in Houston.

Alex serves or has served on the board of directors of various First Reserve portfolio companies or affiliates, including most recently, Ascent Resources, LLC, IOG Resources, LLC and First Reserve Sustainable Growth Corp. Additionally, Alex currently serves on the Investment Committees of the BlackRock Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Funds and the Advisory Boards of Blue Bear Capital.

Alex holds B.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering and Finance and Statistics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Chad Holliday

Lead Independent Director

Chad Holliday was previously Chair of the Board of Royal Dutch Shell from 2015 to 2021 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank of America from 2010 to 2015. For eleven years until 2008 he was Chair of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of DuPont.  Under his direction, DuPont established its mission to achieve sustainable growth: increasing shareholder and societal value while decreasing the company’s environmental footprint.  

Chad is also known for his significant contribution to the advance of sustainability and protection of the environment.  In 2011, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched Sustainable Energy for All with Chad leading the initiative’s Executive Committee.  Today he remains a Director of the United Nations Foundation. In 2021 he became Co Chair at the launch of the Mission Possible Partnership, an alliance of climate leaders focused on supercharging decarbonisation across the entire value chain of the world’s highest-emitting industries in the next ten years.

He is a former Chair of the US National Academy of Engineering and a member of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering.

Tove Feld

Non-Executive Director

Tove has more than 25 years’ experience at the forefront of the renewables sector, with a focus on offshore wind.

Her previous roles include Chief Technology Officer at DONG Energy Wind Power (now Orsted) where she had a prominent role in preparing the company for IPO, as well as Head of Engineering Solutions Offshore, Siemens Wind Power and Managing Director of DNV Global Wind Energy.

Tove currently serves on a number of Boards supporting the energy transition, including TRIG (FTSE 250), Stiesdal, FORCE Technology and CEKO Sensors.  She is also a member of the Board of Representatives at the Danish Technical University.

She is a UF Engineering Graduate (USA) with a Ph.D from Aalborg University (Denmark) and Executive MBA from IMD (Switzerland).

Tjada D’Oyen McKenna

Non-Executive Director

Tjada is Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Corp, a leading humanitarian relief organisation operating around the world, and previously she was Chief Operating Officer of Habitat for Humanity and CARE.

Tjada’s career has a unique blend of experience in operational leadership across the government and not-for-profit sectors, and she brings extensive experience in policy development, community, and environmental impact around the world. Tjada has spent more than a decade working to end world hunger in roles with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. government.  During the Obama administration, Tjada served as Deputy Coordinator of Development for Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, and also Assistant to the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Food Security in Washington, D.C.

Tjada has a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University (1996). She also earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University (2002) and began her career at McKinsey & Co.

Vivienne Cox

Non-Executive Director

Vivienne has wide experience in senior roles in the energy, natural resources, publishing and pharmaceutical sectors as well as leadership positions in prominent business schools. She also has a deep understanding of regulatory and government relationships.

Her executive career spanned 28 years at BP plc in Britain and continental Europe, in posts including Chief Executive of BP’s gas, power and renewable business and its alternative energy unit.

Vivienne is presently a Non-Executive Director of GlaxoSmithKline plc, a member of the Board of Stena AB and, from February 2022, the Chair of Victrex. She is also Chair of the Rosalind Franklin Institute and Vice Chair of the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

Vivienne was previously Senior Independent Director of Pearson plc, a Non-Executive Director of BG Group plc, Rio Tinto plc and Eurotunnel plc, and Lead Independent Director of the UK Government’s Department for International Development.

Vivienne was a member of the INSEAD Board from 2009 to 2013. During this time she was also acting as Non-Executive Chairman for the Climate Change Capital Group Ltd and was a member of the Advisory Board for Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd, a renewable-energy company engaged in wind-power development. 

Natasha Fowlie

Non-Executive Director

Natasha Fowlie is a Principal at BeyondNetZero, the climate strategy of global growth equity investor General Atlantic. Natasha has over 15 years of investing experience, and prior to joining General Atlantic was a Principal at Riverstone Holdings, a private equity firm dedicated to investing in energy, power and renewables infrastructure. Natasha began her career at Goldman Sachs.

Natasha has a Masters degree in Engineering from the University of Cambridge.

Lord John Browne

Non-Executive Director

Lord Browne serves as Chairman of Climate & Sustainability investing and is a Managing Director at General Atlantic.

He brings over 50 years of climate industry experience, including previous roles as the Group Chief Executive of BP from 1995 to 2007 and as co-head of Riverstone’s renewable energy private equity fund from 2007 to 2015. He is Co-Chair of the UK Prime Minister’s Council on Science and Technology.

Lord Browne is a Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow and Past President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He previously served on the boards of DaimlerChrysler, Goldman Sachs, Intel and SmithKline Beecham.

Ed Daniels

Chief Executive Officer

Ed is the former Strategy, Sustainability and Corporate Relations Director for Shell Plc. In this role Ed was a member of Shell’s Executive Committee and had accountability for the company’s existing Strategy, Sustainability and Corporate Relations organisations.

After joining Shell in 1988, Ed held roles in Shell’s Upstream, Integrated Gas, Downstream and Projects & Technology businesses. He previously served as Shell’s UK Country Chair and prior to becoming a Director was Executive Vice President for Strategy, Portfolio & Sustainability, where he led the development of the company’s ‘Powering Progress’ strategy to drive decarbonisation of the energy system and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

A British national, Ed grew up in Wales and is married with three daughters. Ed has served as the Technical Vice President for the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and is a Fellow at both the IChemE and the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, and has an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Imperial College London.

Ayman Asfari

Executive Chair

Ayman is Founder and Executive Chairman of Venterra plc, newly created in 2021. Venterra is a global services champion supporting the offshore wind industry’s rapid expansion and leading role in the energy transition.

Prior to Venterra, Ayman established Petrofac International in 1991 and developed it into a leading FTSE 100 company. He served as Petrofac Group Chief Executive Officer until December 2020 and as a Non-Executive Director until he retired fully from the Board in July 2024.  

Ayman served as a UK Business Ambassador to the Prime Minister from 2014 to 2017. He is a Fellow of both the Energy Institute and the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK.  In 2011 he was awarded EY’s UK Entrepreneur of the Year.  Ayman holds an MSc in Civil and Urban Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.  

Ayman is co-Founder and Chairman of the Asfari Foundation; a Trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the American University of Beirut.

Asia Pacific

Venterra’s growth in the APAC region is led by its UK and European member companies bringing their industry knowledge and capabilities. Group business development for the region is led from Perth, Western Australia and supported by representatives in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

Americas

Headquartered in Rhode Island, Venterra and its member companies have additional representatives on both the east and west coasts of the United States. We serve developers as they gain permits and plan for new wind farm capacity and provide build services as these projects move into the installation phase. 

United Kingdom and Europe

Venterra Group is a global business headquartered in London.  Its member companies operate in 35 countries worldwide from a core of locations around the UK and northern Europe. We draw upon a deep base of experience around the North Sea and UK and European shorelines.  As well as growing fast in our original market our expertise is now being applied in the Americas and APAC.