People Profiles
Darren Parkhouse joined us at the beginning of the month as an Energy Solutions Consultant.
Darren says, “I have 4 children - Maxwell 15, Carter 2, Rain and Jude 9 months old. I would say that they are my biggest and proudest achievement and pretty much everything I do, I do for them or with them in mind. I have 25 years of sales, sales leadership and sales coaching which has been developed within a large corporate organisation. I also naturally consider the bigger picture in terms of how client and colleague experiences can be improved, and interactions can be more value adding and interesting. I have worked for the last 20 years at Barclays, starting as a personal banker before moving into branch management. Having moved through the levels I was invited to take charge of HNW client portfolio before supporting the bank to introduce a sales coaching network. My final role before leaving the Bank was as a BDM for Barclays Wealth. Prior to the bank I had several different jobs including Estate Agent, Milkman and running my own Household Rubbish Clearance business. Outside of work my hobbies include family, football (Luton Town season ticket holder), music (I play guitar) and travelling. One thing I would like to tick off my bucket list is travelling around the South of Africa. My previous visit was cut short by covid.”
Steve Alderson joined the Energy team at Briar as Energy Consulting Manager.
Steve says, “I am married and live on the outskirts of Birmingham, so I will be based out of the local office. Family wise we have one sporty teenager who is half-way through his A levels and about to select his university preference. In 2022 myself and my wife zip wired on the world’s fastest zip wire based in North Wales. I am very excited and pleased to have joined Briar and to be working with the team. The opportunity to help them move forward and grow Briar’s energy offering is one I could not miss. I have over 30 years of engineering and energy experience, this has been mainly for clients, consultants, and FM providers within several sectors such as commercial, public-sector buildings, retail, automotive, chemical and water industry etc. I originally trained via the apprentice route in electrical and electronics and became qualified to HNC and Degree level in BSc in Electrical Technology via the OU. I have worked in the UK and abroad holding senior positions. Also, I am Certified Energy Manager via the AEE and a member of the IET. Outside of work I am very passionate about self-development and believe in the principles of continuous improvement in all forms of life, trying to be the vest version of myself I can be. I love sports, in particular football. I have been a coach for over 10 years (county level). I also enjoy film and cinema. One thing I would love to tick off the bucket list is learning to ride a high-powered motorbike and race on a track.”
Paul Scott has joined the team at Powerful Allies as a Client Relationship Manager.
Paul says, “I have 24 years exemplary military service leaving as a Warrant Offer, followed by moving into the telecommunications industry. In my new role I am looking forward to bringing my analytical approach, acute eye for detail and proactive thinking. Early career experience from 1988 to 2012 was in the British Army, initially as a recovery mechanic in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers followed by a transfer to the Adjutant General’s Corps as a Chief Clerk. 2012- 2013 working at Openreach Limited, initially as a Field Engineer installing and repairing copper telephone line with the broadband to residential customers followed by the last 7 years as a Field Engineer Recruitment Specialist, dealing with the assessment, recruitment, and induction of over 10,000 trainee field engineers. My qualifications and skills include: NVQ Level 3 in Management (Managing People), Institute of Management Foundation Certificate in Supervisory Management, NVQ Level 2 in Administration, Competent in all Microsoft Office applications, particularly SharePoint administration. Outside of work I have restarted hitting the gym (cardio, should go more!), family time and walking. One thing I would like to tick off my bucket list would be to build my own home in the middle of nowhere with the lottery winnings that I have yet to win!”
Eleanor Dargan has joined the Bill Validation team in Linlithgow as a Billing Administrator.
Eleanor says, “Hi I’m Eleanor. I am from County Cork in Southern Ireland. I moved to the UK in July 2022 and now permanently reside in Bo’ness in Scotland with my partner and our miniature jack Russell puppy. Growing up I came from a very competitive sports family. My parents, siblings and I were all involved in Irish Gaelic sports alongside Irish dancing. In 1988 I became a World Set/ Irish dancing champion with my home team which was held in Manchester. I recently got engaged so I am very excited to celebrate our wedding with all my Irish family and friends here in Scotland next year. To my new role I am excited to begin my journey with DB Group Europe in Linlithgow. I am an extremely organised person and like to plan ahead, while also allowing for ad hoc tasks that occur during the working day. Being organised I feel it gives me excellent multitasking skills, alongside the ability to work under pressure. I would consider myself a brand ambassador and will go above and beyond for DB Group and my colleagues alike. I am very personable, and I am kind. Building rapport and friendship with all my colleagues is very important to me. For 13 years I have worked within the Financial Services Industry in Ireland, primarily in Retail Banking. I began my banking career in 2006 after successfully completing my Financial Services education in college in Cork City. I started as a junior bank official, continued my studies and on completion progressed to senior bank official in 2010. In 2015 I was made Assistant Bank Manager. Outside of work my biggest passion is walking. I adore hiking or finding a new natural trail to walk with my fiancé and our miniature jack Russell pup ‘Babsie’. Growing up, my parent always rescued animals from a nearby sanctuary, from dogs to cats, goats to donkeys, lambs to chickens. I am a BIG animal lover. My puppy Babsie is also a rescue dog. I watch as many sports as possible in my spare time – rugby, Irish Gaelic sports, football and professional darts. I am slowly learning the rules of cricket, but it is complicated. One of the things on my bucket list is to recue another dog once our new home is completed here in Scotland.”
Alan Rickard has joined the Relationship Managers in Linlithgow.
Alan says, “Due to my father’s job, I spent most of my formative years living abroad (Nigeria, West Indies, Indonesia & Kenya). This submerged me in different cultures from a very early age and through living in these countries and visiting many more on our travels in between this fuelled my passion for travel. Before kids came along my wife took the opportunity to experience as many different countries as we could including taking a career break to travel around the world, backpacking around various African countries, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Fiji and America. In a work capacity, I had some success in the account management roles. I won a number of sales achievement awards including trips to Paris, Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon, Cape Town and Phoenix. Having worked my whole career in Customer focussed roles within finance, latterly Client Relationship Management. I am really looking forward to bringing all the transferable skills gained in these roles to Zenergi and to enjoy the experience of learning and working in an industry that is completely new to me. My career experience to date has been Account Management Support with Scottish Amicable; Account Manager with Scottish Amicable; Senior Account Manager with Prudential after they acquired Scottish Amicable; Senior Account Manager with Scottish Equitable; Client Relationship Manager with Aegon after they acquired Scottish Equitable; very brief foray into the world of Asda Distribution which unfortunately didn’t live up to my expectations. Outside of work I am married to Jacqueline with three daughters Nicole (17), Jessica (15) and Bella (4) – the four-legged Cockapoo variety. I love sport of just about every variety, but particularly golf. Something I would love to tick off my bucket list would be to revisit New Zealand (so far on my travels has to be my favourite country). Despite living in the far East for a number of years I never managed to visit China, so this remains a place that I have always wanted to visit but haven’t yet made it.”
Federico D’Argenio has joined our team at Energy Management as a Relationship Manager.
Federico says, “I am from Bradford on Avon and went to school locally before studying Mechanical Engineering at Cardiff University where I achieved a 2:1 which is my biggest academic achievement. I am excited to bring a pair of useful hands and a breadth of technical knowledge to be greatly expanded upon! I have previously had experience at GKN Aerospace and Mangarolla C/C for STEM outreach education packages, but this is my first full time employment. My qualifications include BEng Mechanical Engineering degree, certified Solidworks mechanical designer (associate), programming knowledge in C++. Python and Matlab. Also proficient in Italian and I have a basic understanding of German. If I could do one thing from my bucket list, I would love to go for a track day experience in some fast, sporty car or kart.”
Andrew Birch has joined us as our new CCO.
Andrew says, “I grew up in a beautiful village in Scotland called Moffat with my older sister and younger brother. Moffat is in South West Scotland, near Dumfries. If you like scenery and walking and the infamous Moffat Toffee, it is a great place to visit. My dad spent 30 years working for British Gas and helped set up the gas compressor station in Beattock, which pumps gas down the country and over to Ireland. He’s very interested in my new role at Zenergi! My mum was a teacher at my school, meaning if I misbehaved at school, I also got a detention at home! I enjoyed studying at Stirling Uni but the real reason I was there was to play tennis, it’s the home of the Scottish Tennis centre. I moved ‘down south’ to London via Edinburgh in 2000 and thought I’d do a couple of years in the big smoke…. it turned out to be a wee bit longer! I have many sales and commercial miles on my engine, across a number of different and interesting sectors, so I genuinely hope I can bring my sales, customer growth/customer retention, marketing and leadership experience to Zenergi to help us take advantage of the market opportunity that is clearly in front of us. Growing a business is a roller-coaster ride and I have learned a great deal along the way. I also have a passion for people, and I know from experience that cross-functional teamwork, trust, integrity and a desire to have fun always combine to make great things happen. I have a degree and post grad in Human Resources Management from Stirling University, and I am also a qualified Miller Heiman sales coach. As a typical enterprise salesperson, I have also been through the usual sales training methodologies such as SPIN, MEDDIC, Challenger etc. I love a good sales or leadership book! Sad, I know…my current favourite is The Advantage – Patrick Lencioni. I love to spend time with my wife Nadine, kids Euan (14), Lara (12) and Bertie our dog, usually walking, riding bikes or freezing my feet stood on a touchline somewhere. I love most sports and have a particular passion for cycling, tennis, motorcycles and the gym. I also play golf from time to time and used to play a lot of footy. I love to travel…mountains and lakes are my thing, but I also like an interesting city to explore for a weekend. One thing I would love to tick off my bucket list would be to go to the Isle of Man for the TT motorbike race week. That’s on my petrolhead bucket list. Maybe next year!!”.
Jack Taylor has joined our taskforce.
Jack says, “I come from a media marketing background in terms of work career; with creative subjects being my main point of interest in academia. I am excited to bring to my new role my impeccable customer service and enthusiasm to learn. My marketing background was with the Client Services Team, working on a variety of well-known brands and I found that these skills would set me up for success with my new endeavour at Zenergi. I graduated with BA (Hons) in Creative and Performing Arts. Creative thinking, public speaking and problem-solving are my strong points. Outside of work I am a big foodie, love to travel and make music. The one thing I would like to tick off my bucket list would be meeting an elephant.”
Matthew Botha has joined the Briar team as an Energy Assessor.
Matthew says, “I am originally from Johannesburg but grew up in Essex and it shows! I’ve been living down in Brighton for the last few years, and currently reside with my better half and our nonchalant cat, in a flat above the worst pizza place in town. I am excited to bring my experience as an EPC Assessor to the team and learn from them also. My experience to date has been Energy Broker, Sales Executive, Mortgage Advisor, Band Manager, Musician, and Energy Assessor. I have a BA Hons in Professional Musicianship, CeMap Mortgage Advice and Practice and qualified Level 4 Commercial Energy Assessor. Outside of work I am a guitarist who plays in a few different bands, from weddings to festivals etc. Apart from that, I spend a load of time cooking elaborate food, whilst the wine flows. Naturally. One thing I would like to tick off my bucket list would be visiting the Mayan ruins in South America.”
Ebony Charlton has joined the Bill Validation team.
Ebony says, “This new role is completely different from what I have done before. I have previously worked for Your Move Letting Agent as a maintenance coordinator. Before that, I was working as a photographer for weddings and family photo shoots, but COVID had other ideas for me! My passions include photography and singing, I have completed 6 grades in singing with Trinity College in London singing opera and musical theatre. I am looking forward to starting my new role at Zenergi as the first impression from my interview was that the vibe was really positive. The one thing I would like to tick off my bucket list is travelling Asia and visiting an elephant sanctuary to volunteer on their 6-week programs.”
Catharine Dowling has joined the Pricing team.
Catharine says, “I am excited to bring my organisation skills and I enjoy problem solving, so I hope I can use this in my new role. My career experience to date was as a Streetworks Task controller 2015-2022 with Wessex Water, General Administrator 2009-2015 with Western Harvesters, Travel Assistant 2006-2008 with Buro Happold and an Administrative Assistant/ Senior Secretary 2000-2006 with Anthony Best Dynamics. I have an RSA Diploma in Administrative and Secretarial Procedures. Outside of work I am a member of the local running club and have completed several 10Ks and half marathons. My most challenging race was the Snowdonia Trail Marathon which was a big achievement due to the changeable weather and different terrain. I also climbed Kilimanjaro a few years ago which was an amazing experience. I have a springer spaniel so am kept busy outside of work with going on plenty of walks and hope to be able to run with him when he is bit older. Something I would like to tick off my bucket list would be a skydive.”
Chadd Zaloumis has joined our taskforce.
Chadd says, “I am originally from Zimbabwe, I have just recently moved to Southampton. After attaining my A Levels, I received an internship with Toshiba as a Printing Technician. Having learnt the company from the ground up, from sweeping floors to managing the setup, programming, and maintenance of all printer models. I moved to the sales department and worked my way up to the position of Sales and Marketing Specialist where I specialised in lead generation and client retention, implementing tactics that are still in use within the company today, and with that newfound passion I later started my own sales and marketing agency within Zimbabwe, mainly dealing within the electronics and automotive industries. I'm very excited to bring my experiences and proactive approach to customer service to my new role and even more excited to learn the new skills to come out of the role itself. My passion outside of work would be fitness/bodybuilding, even though it's more of an addiction than a hobby at this point. The one thing I'd tick off my bucket list would be to backpack across Europe.”
Sophie Hunter has joined the Relationship Manager team in Linlithgow.
Sophie says, “I graduated from the University of Dundee in 2022 with a in Environmental Science BSc (Hons). During my final year I began working as a Research Officer for Islay Energy Trust, a small charity on the Isle of Islay. It was here that I gained a lot of experience and developed a passion for the energy sector. I am eager to apply my existing knowledge of the energy sector but also to expand this and continue to learn. I want to bring high energy and positivity to my role. My career experience to date was a year and 10 months as a Research Officer at Islay Energy Trust. Outside of work I like to dip my toe in a lot of hobbies and activities, but I mainly enjoy art, horse riding and video games. My two dogs take up quite a lot of my time outside of work, which I have unfortunately had to leave on Islay. One thing I would tick off my bucket list would be to see the Great Barrier Reef. I got quite close on holiday once, but the trip was called off twice. Once due to weather and one due to illness in my group, so perhaps it will be third time lucky on my next attempt.”
Fraser Ashley-Mills has joined as a Quality Administrator.
Fraser says, “I started in customer service with over 10 years of retail management, finally leading me into the decision to leave the industry for something more challenging. I’m looking forward to my career with Zenergi and a new chapter. I am excited to use my previous experience for a new challenge, hopefully sharing my knowledge and experience with others. Also learning an entirely new industry and expanding my skills. I have NVQ qualifications in Retail and retail management. Diploma in Games Design. Outside of work I enjoy wild camping. I love computers and reading in my spare time. One thing I would tick off my bucket list is to do a skydive.”
