SNS2026: The Next 25 Years – Conference Speakers

Simon is Deputy Head of Environmental Services and Decommissioning at ASCO, bringing extensive expertise in regulated waste streams, sustainable resource management, and offshore decommissioning. A Chartered Waste Manager (CIWM), he is focused on delivering safe, compliant and cost competitive operations while supporting sustainable business growth and the transition into low-carbon energy projects.

With ASCO’s long-standing presence in East Anglia since 1984, Simon contributes to end-to-end logistics, environmental services, and materials management for leading UK energy companies including onshore support for offshore decommissioning projects.

As an elected Director of the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR), Simon actively promotes regional collaboration across the energy sector. Outside of work, Simon is a qualified football referee and a member of Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club.

Lucy Dolton, Renewable Generation Lead is responsible for strategic direction of Cornwall Insight’s subscription solutions in the Renewable Generation market.

Lucy’s subject matter expertise includes renewable policy support mechanisms and PPAs. She chairs Cornwall Insight’s monthly Green Generators Group forum, bringing together over 50 organisations in the sector.

Rachel Bunn is the Skills and Innovation Director at East Coast College and a Director at East Coast Energy Training Academy,

Part of her role is exploring new ways of reducing the skills gaps problems that many employers face. She is working on a range of employment projects in region and is supporting employers to think differently about recruitment and retention.

Alessandro Barberis is the Managing Director of Bacton CCS and Eni Tellus CCS, two operating companies promoting carbon capture and storage projects in the UK Continental Shelf that form part of the portfolio of initiatives of Eni CCUS Holding – the CCS company that was set up in the UK between global energy-tech company Eni and BlackRock’s GIP.

As part of Eni CCUS Holding’s top management, he has a direct overview of the company’s international portfolio of CCS projects, including the Liverpool Bay CCS in the North West of England and North Wales.

Alessandro holds a degree with honours in Geological Sciences from the University of Milan; after graduating he immediately joined Eni in 1992 as Junior Exploration Geoscientist and, since then, he has spent more than 30 years of his career in the Eni Upstream Sector, both in Italy and abroad (Northern Europe and North Africa). In the last fifteen years, he has held the position of VP Exploration for the Americas and Northern Europe and Europe, Central Asia, Far East and Pacific, as well as holding senior leadership positions in Exploration through different assignments in Italy and abroad (Northern Europe, North Africa, East Med.). 

He has held the position of Country Manager/Managing Director of the Eni’s Cyprus subsidiary for 5 years. Alessandro has also served both as Director and Chairman on the boards of Eni international and Italian companies. His two latest assignments were as EVP Exploration at Var Energi Norway and Ithaca Energy UK.

Tom is Local Supply Chain Manager for Equinor’s Offshore Wind activities in the UK, focusing on Business Development Projects and their associated supply chains.

Tom joined Equinor in April 2021 as North East Stakeholder Manager for Dogger Bank, the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction. This involved working alongside Dogger Bank partners to engage with and build relationships across the community, industry and the supply chain.

Tom is Deputy Chair of North East England’s Offshore Wind Cluster, Energi Coast, and also a board member of NOF and Energy Central Campus.

As the Stakeholder Manager for the Greater Wash region, Sophie works with key local stakeholders, developing opportunities for the community with both the existing Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon offshore wind farms, and their consented extensions.  

Sophie has a passion for communicating with an engaged future workforce, driven by the good jobs on their doorstep in Norfolk.

Rob Gilbert serves as the Director of Supply Chain at Great British Energy, the UK’s publicly backed clean energy investment company. In this role, Rob leads the development and delivery of national supply chain strategy to support the UK’s energy transition. His remit includes driving industrial capacity, supporting local content and workforce development, and securing resilient supply networks across offshore wind, solar, and transmission infrastructure.

Rob brings over a decade of experience in energy, infrastructure, and government advisory, having previously been a Partner at Baringa, where he led major engagements across energy market design, procurement strategy, and public-private investment programmes. He has worked with leading utilities, policymakers, and regulators to address systemic supply chain bottlenecks and accelerate clean energy delivery.

An established voice in the energy sector, Rob has contributed to high-impact industry publications and serves as a frequent speaker at national forums on infrastructure resilience and sustainable energy growth. His current work at Great British Energy plays a pivotal role in aligning investment with UK industrial capabilities, while delivering on the country’s net-zero ambitions.

As Head of BD at Interconnector, Ayan is focused on delivering opportunities in energy transition across the UK and wider European energy markets. Interconnector operates the natural gas pipeline connecting Bacton (UK) to Zeebrugge (Belgium). Ayan is responsible for identifying commercial opportunities that will enable the decarbonisation of European industry through the development of cross-border transportation of carbon and new low-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen.

Ayan has over 20 years’ experience in the energy industry. His previous roles have spanned multiple disciplines across finance, commercial and regulatory strategy, programme management, M&A and investment strategy within the mid-stream segment of the energy value chain.

Alan Muirhead is an experienced leader in the energy sector, currently serving as Head of Operation Services at Ithaca Energy. He leads multi‑disciplinary operational teams supporting the improving of operational efficiency and ensuring predictable delivery across Operational Assets. Previously, he held the position of UK Managing Director at Neptune Energy, with full accountability and responsibility for the safe management of offshore and onshore operations, strategic delivery, and key stakeholder engagement.

Andy is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Fellow of the I. Mech. E. with over 25 years’ experience in the development and delivery of energy projects. Having worked on coal and gas fired power station development, onshore wind and offshore wind Andy has worked with the whole range of challenges that project development can bring.

Holding senior development management positions with ALSTOM Power, RES and ESB Andy joined Vattenfall in 2012 as the Co-Project Director for the Vattenfall/Scottish Power joint venture for the ‘Round 3’ East Anglia Zone. He held various development management positions with Vattenfall, including more latterly assessing the feasibility of multi-purpose interconnector projects between the UK and Netherlands. Andy has been a director of EEEGR and was instrumental in the formation of the East Wind Cluster. He has also sat on a number of industry groups, including National Grid Transmission’s Independent User Group where he had unique insight into their plans for engagement and delivery of grid investment plans for the East coast. He is now the independent project director of North Falls, a 50/50 joint venture between SSE Renewables and RWE which is an extension to the operational Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm.

Born and raised in East Anglia, Craig recently joined National Grid Electricity Transmission as external affairs manager.

Prior to this he spent many years in local government with responsibility for energy projects.

Sylvia is the Energy Supply Chain manager within the North Sea Transition Authority’s Supply Chain and Decommissioning Directorate. Her role includes working with operators, developers, and Supply chain companies to maximise prosperity from the entire value chain of new projects through to decommissioning and Energy Transition. She is responsible for developing and setting up initiatives to provide more market visibility to the supply chain.

Sylvia has developed a wide network of contacts through Government/Industry engagement, including Sectoral and Regional trade associations, which is essential for fostering collaboration between companies and more widely within the sector. Prior to her NSTA role she was a manager in the DECC Pilot and Industry development team and was responsible for Ministerial briefings and speeches working closely with Energy Ministers.

Bill has been involved in the promotion of Oil and Gas expertise and the UK supply chain for over 20 years and has extensive knowledge across the sector. During this time, he administered and actively participated on the Government/ Industry forum PILOT where many of the enabling initiatives for the UKCS were developed.

Currently Bill is Head of Supply Chain at the North Sea Transition Authority where he is tasked with promoting and growing a competitive and competent service sector.

This covers the entire spectrum from exploration through to decommissioning and now into energy transition where there is a focus on establishing new capabilities to serve this emerging market. In doing so the aspiration is to promote a supply chain which can compete on a global basis and win significant value for the UK economy.

Bill’s role includes working at a senior level with Operators/ Developers and Supply chain companies as well as other stakeholders and public bodies to successfully deliver UKCS project activity. Bill maintains strong links with sectorial and regional trade associations and as part of this participates on the board of EEEGR, Global Underwater Hub, NOF Energy and Decom North Sea.

Bill is a chartered surveyor and joined the UK Government Energy Department 22 years ago after working in the Scottish Executive’s Rural Affairs Department. His efforts in promoting the Oil and Gas Supply chain were recognised in 2015 when he was awarded an OBE.

Claire Hepworth MSc is the Asset Transition Manager with the North Sea Transition Authority, specialising in decommissioning stewardship and late‑life asset management.

With over 30 years’ experience across oil and gas operations, integrity management and decommissioning, she works closely with industry to ensure regulatory compliance in readiness for Cessation of Production and subsequent decommissioning activities.

She holds an MSc in Decommissioning from the University of Aberdeen.

Alistair has been with the North Sea Transition Authority (formerly OGA) since 2016 and was Area Manager for the SNS/EIS from 2019.

Alistair is the co-chair of the North Sea Transition Steering Committee’s CO2 Transportation and Storage Task Force and from the 1st of February 2023 has led the NSTA’s UK Carbon Transportation and Storage Team who have responsibility for evaluating and consenting to Co2 storage permit applications.

Prior to joining NSTA Alistair had 25+ yrs experience with a number of operators and service companies working in Finance, Commercial, Planning and Strategy roles in the UK and overseas. 

Tom Wheeler is the Director of Operations at the NSTA. Tom became Head of Commercial for DECC’s upstream oil and gas team in 2014 and then moved to the NSTA when it was established in 2015.

Tom previously trained as a solicitor and spent seven years working in private practice before taking a role as in-house counsel in the oil and gas industry. Tom was previously the NSTA’s Director of Regulation.

The Operations Directorate is responsible for the overall stewardship of oil and gas exploration and production on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), and oversees the delivery of offshore carbon transportation and storage developments. It is responsible for the asset stewardship process, and development of area plans on the UKCS, working closely with operators and licensees to ensure economic recovery, whilst supporting the drive to net zero carbon by 2050 including by issuing permits for geological carbon storage projects and stewarding those projects through their lifecycle.

Marc Gater is Logistics and Planning Manager at ODE Asset Management, responsible for integrated logistics and project control delivery across a portfolio of SNS offshore gas production assets. With 20 years’ experience across both operator and contractor organisations, Marc has supported offshore assets throughout their full offshore lifecycle across both the Southern and Northern North Sea.

His experience spans production operations, drilling, late life asset management and decommissioning preparation activities, including transitioning assets though from cessation of production into lighthouse mode operations. Marc specialises in offshore logistics integration, helicopter and marine operations, and the coordination of shared resources across complex offshore campaigns.

Marc is an active member of the EEEGR Decommissioning in East Anglia working group and the Gas Transition Sector Council (GTSC) Steering Committee, and contributes through Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) to industry forums focused on offshore aviation, logistics, operational safety and energy transition.

Enrique is OEUK’s Energy Policy Director, a role he has held since January 2026. He leads the development and advocacy of forward-looking energy policy for the offshore energy sector. His team draws on robust data, market intelligence and industry insight to shape policy direction,  and support the UK’s energy security objectives. Enrique is responsible for OEUK’s energy policy agenda and also oversees the market intelligence function. He joined OEUK in 2023 as Head of Policy.

Enrique brings over 14 years of experience in energy and climate policy, with senior domestic and international roles across the UK government. His career has spanned oil and gas, renewables and climate policy development. He has led the Energy Team at the British Embassy in Mexico, delivered the oil and gas exports strategy for the Americas and Africa at the Department for International Trade, led the technologies strand of the UK government’s Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy covering CCUS, hydrogen and electrification, and headed the CCUS Supply Chains work at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Hazel has over 20 years’ experience in education, training and development for the engineering and energy sectors with significant experience in designing and delivering learning and competency projects for major energy companies.

Based in the UK, Hazel joined OPITO is 2024 as the Strategic Partnerships Manager for UK and Europe before being promoted to Vice President for UK and Europe in 2025. 

Hazel’s role focuses on developing strategic relationships with national and international energy companies, OPITO approved training centres, governments and industry bodies in the UK and Europe, with the aim being to identify and implement solutions to support the safety of the workforce.

Laura McNaughton is a Product Development Manager at OPITO, the industry‑owned, global, not‑for‑profit skills authority at the forefront of workforce safety and skills development across safety‑critical industries. With a strong background in learning technology and development across the education, public, and corporate sectors, Laura brings extensive experience in the design and delivery of digital learning solutions.

At OPITO, she supports the development and evolution of safety‑critical training and competency standards, working closely with industry and training providers to ensure products are innovative, robust, and aligned with the needs of a global workforce. Her work contributes to OPITO’s mission to strengthen the workforce of tomorrow and support a safer, more competent future as the energy landscape continues to evolve.

Emma is Head of Stakeholder Relations at Ørsted UK.

She leads on engagement with regional and local government, skills, supply chain and communities as the offshore wind projects continue to be developed, constructed and operated in the UK. In her previous role she has worked both in public and private sectors developing strategy and delivering projects on the benefits and opportunity which the offshore wind sector can bring to regions.

Her experience has been around supporting inward investors, education & training, improvements in environment and infrastructure as well as supporting supply chains in their efforts to obtain further work in the sector.

Emma now Chairs the UK Cluster Development Group.

Julian started his career in1990 after joining Baker Hughes in operations providing both well, process and pipeline services to the oil and gas sector.

Julian is CEO of the PARADIGM an international Oil and Gas technology suite of companies that all provide disruptive technology solutions and services to reduce total operational cost whilst lowering carbon impact during the production and transportation of hydrocarbons.  Julian is currently based and lives in the Netherlands.

His career includes working directly on onshore and offshore facilities, operations engineering, technical sales and over 30 years of direct business management covering the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors.

Julian has been active for EEEGR since 2013, and currently co-chairs the Gas Transition Sector Council and is a Conference Advisory Board member for Offshore Energy, The Netherlands leading Energy conference.

Oliver Felmingham is the Decommissioning Manager at Perenco UK.

Oliver joined Perenco as a Graduate Process Engineer from Loughborough University in 2013.

During his time at Perenco Oliver has worked in the Projects team as a discipline engineer, Project Engineer & Engineering Manager before moving into Decommissioning in 2024.

Since joining the Perenco, the Decommissioning team have removed 1 topside, 7 jackets and supported the P&A of multiple topsides and subsea wells. 

Having spent 12 years in the public sector, Nicola joined Perenco in 2022, bringing with her a strong governance mindset and a fresh, analytical perspective on training and competence assurance within oil and gas operations. 

 Nicola quickly established herself as the subject matter expert for competence assurance across Perenco’s Southern North Sea operations and currently holds the position of Lead Competence Assurance Advisor. Her approach is pragmatic and outcome‑focused, enabling her to successfully balance role‑specific training requirements with operational realities, while maintaining regulatory and safety expectations.

With over 20 years at Perenco UK, Chris has held a range of SNS roles spanning operations, integrity, safety management and most recently Production Manager, before moving into CCS.

He now leads Regulatory and Stakeholder Engagement for Perenco’s CCS portfolio — including Project Poseidon on the Leman field, a world class prospective carbon store at ~1 Gt capacity, targeting first injection in 2030.

A co-opted EEEGR Director, he is committed to ensuring a decarbonised UK gas sector plays a central role in a balanced and pragmatic clean energy transition — and believes the Southern North Sea is where that case is won or lost.

Jonathan (“Jo”) White has 35 years of experience in the E&P business. With a background in geology and geophysics, he has served in a variety of technical and leadership roles at team leader, functional chief and senior management levels, working for operators and service companies on exploration, development and production projects in diverse settings worldwide, including the UK, Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. 

He currently serves as a Director & General Manager of Perenco UK’s Southern North Sea (SNS) business unit, which operates 24 active gas fields off the east coast of England, consisting of over 200 natural gas wells, and 2 gas terminals on the East coast of England. All told, Perenco handles around one sixth of the natural gas production from the UK’s offshore gas fields.

Since Feb 2024, Jo has also served as an industry representative and Co-Chair of the Asset Stewardship Task Force, which includes membership of the North Sea Transition Steering Group, acting as the North Sea Transition Forum when meeting with Government Ministers.

In early 2025, Perenco successfully completed the UK’s first carbon storage injection trial, as part of their Poseidon Project.  At the Leman platform 27H, 25 miles off the coast of Norfolk, approximately 4000 tonnes of food-grade CO2 were safely pumped into depleted reservoir rocks 2 miles beneath the seabed, with sustained rates of over 1 Mega-tonnes per annum achieved, proving project viability.

Jo says, “I believe in the power of high performing teams to drive business results. With an open and collaborative style, I engage in honest discourse to find common ground and build alliances across boundaries, developing productive internal and external business relationships. I try to ensure that goals and expectations are clearly defined and effectively communicated. I enjoy working with colleagues who engage their creative energies to find and deliver innovative solutions, rather than just identify problems.  The future is bright!”

As Peterson’s Managing Director UK, Stuart is responsible for leading the company’s operations, business development, resource requirements, and strategic planning across eight operational sites in the UK including two within the Southern North Sea region.

Peterson is a global leader in logistics, supply chain, and technology solutions which unburden customers across the full energy lifecycle with significant expertise in providing safe, efficient, and reliable decommissioning solutions.

Bart Smits is the General Manager of Petrogas North Sea, responsible for the company’s UK upstream portfolio, including exploration, appraisal, and development activities. He brings over 20 years of experience in the international energy sector, with a strong background in operational and technical leadership.

Has held senior roles across the E&P industry, leading multidisciplinary teams through key project phases from concept selection through to decommissioning. His current focus includes capital discipline, regulatory engagement, and positioning North Sea assets for long-term value creation in a changing energy landscape.  beginning his career as a Metering & Hydrocarbon Accounting Engineer, progressing to Offshore Installation Manager, and subsequently into senior operations leadership roles. 

Having spent nine years as Operations Manager at Petrogas E&P Netherlands, having previously held a similar role within Centrica Energy in Aberdeen.  In addition, Bart served as Chair of the Operations Committee at ElementNL for four years, where he aligned operational priorities across the Dutch E&P industry and led the offshore COVID response, ensuring continuity of gas supply during the global pandemic.

He holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry from the Eindhoven University of Technology and an Executive MBA from INSEAD.

Iona joined Progressive Energy in 2023, bringing over 15 years of experience in commercial and business development across sustainable technologies. She plays a key role in driving the UK’s low-carbon hydrogen transition, with a particular focus on accelerating the energy transition in the East of England. Iona is leading the development of the Bacton Hydrogen Hub, a flagship project designed to unlock regional decarbonisation while delivering tangible economic and societal benefits for local communities.

Jane champions RenewableUK’s close to 500 members to drive awareness of policy challenges, galvanise support and delivery of renewables, and publicly highlight the sector’s benefits.

As a leader in the renewable energy industry, she works closely with the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) and the Onshore Wind Industry Council (ONWIC) to align the Government’s ambitions with industry deliverables.

Over the last decade, Jane has built a deep, sector-wide expertise, contributing significantly to landmark collaborative initiatives such as the Offshore Wind Sector Deal and the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership.  

A Chartered Mechanical engineer, Jane previously served as the Director of Regulatory and External Affairs at Ørsted, where she played a pivotal role in shaping industry regulations and fostering strategic partnerships between the Government and the private sector. Jane is Chair of the Aura CDT Strategic Advisory Board and co-Chair of the Floating Offshore Wind Executive.

With 20 years in digital training and competence management within the safety-critical sector, Ian has helped businesses unlock potential through smart, effective learning.

From instructional designer to director of a global digital training provider, he’s now founder of Reuzer – a growing, agile, digital-first company that has been making waves in the energy sector for the past six years.

Diane Mailer has worked for RWE for five years managing projects and leading a number of large-scale transactions to successful outcomes before joining the Five Estuaries Team in November 2023.  Prior to coming to RWE Diane worked as a commercial and regulatory lawyer both at Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, and in private practice.  In addition, she has worked as a company secretary and social housing manager. In her work, Diane combines her legal background, and various educations and experience in project management and coaching, with a commercial, pragmatic and empathic approach to her role.   

Diane is originally from Australia but has now settled in the UK with her Belgian husband and British children.

She is passionate about renewable energy and making a positive difference for future generations.

Pieter Van der Avert is General Manager at Scaldis Salvage & Marine Contractors, with direct involvement in the delivery of several landmark UK offshore decommissioning projects.

He has played a key commercial and strategic role in UK campaigns including ENI UK’s Hewett field, as well as INEOS’ Cavendish and Windermere projects, covering platform removals, heavy lift operations, and integrated marine solutions.

With hands‑on experience across planning, contracting, and execution, Pieter brings a strong combination of operational insight and commercial realism to today’s discussion on UK decommissioning.

Ross is the Managing Director for Offshore at ScottishPower Renewables. Overseeing all of ScottishPower’s offshore projects from early development, construction and through to O&M. This includes East Anglia Hub, a 3GW project comprising three consented offshore windfarms, with two in construction.

Previously, he was delivery director for Iberdrola’s Wikinger project in the Baltic Sea. Ross has over 20 years’ experience in renewable energy and joined the Iberdrola Group in 2014.

Ross is also on the Board of the East of England Energy Group, which looks to represent over 200 businesses across the region involved in the energy sector.

Richard has over three decades of experience delivering offshore energy projects across oil and gas and offshore wind.

Over the last ten years, he has specialised in CCS and hydrogen energy transition systems.

He currently leads sustainable hydrogen, carbon capture and gas storage project development at Summit Energy Evolution Limited (SEEL), the UK-based energy transition arm of Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation.

Tim Johnson is a seasoned procurement and commercial professional with extensive experience in the energy sector. Known for his dynamic leadership style, he has successfully guided teams through complex procurement and contract management programs, ensuring operational excellence and strategic alignment with business objectives. His expertise spans supplier negotiations, risk management, and delivering value-driven solutions in challenging environments.

Currently, Tim leads a high-performing, commercially focused team at Sizewell C, dedicated to achieving sustainable benefits for the organization. His approach emphasizes innovation, collaboration, and long-term value creation, ensuring that procurement strategies not only meet immediate operational needs but also support the company’s broader goals for efficiency and sustainability.

Ashley has spent 5 years working as part of the supply chain engagement team at the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, focusing on getting the greatest impact and legacy from the Sizewell C project. 

Supporting and guiding local and regional businesses through the requirements and expectations of major infrastructure projects, the Chambers work has now expanded into other projects and clients and is utilising the extensive knowledge and experience across his team to best support existing and prospective businesses in the East of England. 

The Sizewell C project is a Catalyst for growth, diversification and sustainability in the East, and Ashley and the supply chain team at the Chamber of Commerce want to make accessing and preparing for the raft of opportunities as easy and accessible as possible.

Guilherme has over 10 years’ experience in public policy and energy, with strong knowledge of energy systems, technology, and AI.

Since finishing his master’s in Energy Economics at UCL, Guilherme has worked at several innovative companies, including Octopus Energy and Faculty AI, and now leads Innovation for Offshore Wind at The Crown Estate.

Kevin Stewart is Operations Director at Wood, where he leads the UK Late Life Asset Management business, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.  Kevin has over 20 years of experience in asset management across several sectors.

An early adopter of using AI in asset management, Kevin has been involved in developing, designing and scaling AI-based solutions at Wood since 2020. These include solutions for occupational safety observations, process safety barrier management, maintenance optimisation and spares and inventory assessments. 

He has delivered more than 50 AI-enabled maintenance and safety projects across upstream, downstream, gas-processing, utilities and industrial sectors – driving measurable outcomes including backlog risk reduction, improved process safety barrier health, cost avoidance and workforce efficiency. His expertise integrates practical frontline deployment challenges including management of change and embedding sustained behaviours to gain value from AI deployment.