Who We Are

About Vekta Group

Our journey so far

Vekta Group was founded in 2017, initially to provide grid and electrical knowledge and support to developers in the renewables industry.

In early 2020 we expanded our offering to include more project management, engineering and financial modelling services and embarked on the development of in-house digital solutions to solve known industry problems.

We are continuing to grow both our consultancy and software teams and have decades of combined experience in the renewables and software industries.

Automation & Modelling

Development & Delivery

Technical Due Diligence

Optimisation & Performance

Collaborative Working

We are a trusted partner to developers, suppliers, lenders, investors and insurers

Based in Edinburgh, UK, we are well positioned to continue our growth and support the industry through disruptive innovation, thought leadership and practical solutions that can help even the most challenging projects strive towards improving their viability and returns.

Our Approach

We believe that balancing profitability with efficiency and sustainability will improve IRR and viability.

Meet our Leadership team

Our Team

headshot-charles
Charles Balderston
Founder & CEO
Mark Lawson Headshot
Mark Lawson
Technical Director
Iona Guild Headshot (1)
Iona Guild
Contracts Manager
Gordon Thomson Headshot - Closer
Gordon Thomson
Senior O&M Engineer
Olive Balderston Headshot
Olive
Chief Morale Officer

Company Details

Linkedin-in

What We do

Useful Info

Vektra Group Logo

Charles Balderston

Founder & ceo

Charles is an experienced and driven Engineering Project Manager specialising in Electrical systems with over 20 years of experience in the energy and transport sectors.

This includes over 12 years in the development, construction, management and steering of some 2.5GW of offshore/onshore wind projects.  He also has 6 years experience in the Rail Transport Industry.

A keen Entrepreneur who is determined to make Vekta Group a key player in making a practical impact on climate change:

  • Founder of Vekta Group

  • Former Member of National Grid GSR020 and Cigre 66kV working groups

  • Member of ORE Catapult ELECTRODE working group

Linkedin-in

Mark Lawson

Technical Director

Mark is a highly experienced Chartered Engineer with demonstrated knowledge in power systems engineering, renewable project management, technical due diligence and the management of large engineering teams.  Mark brings over 30 years of experience to our company.  

Most recently, Mark has been managing a team of over 50 engineers while supporting a large range of offshore and onshore wind, solar, energy storage and other renewable technology projects throughout their full life cycle.  Mark has worked in the renewable industry since he started on the development of the UK’s first major offshore wind project North Hoyle.

Linkedin-in

Iona Guild

Contracts Manager

Iona has over 5 years of experience in procurement and contracts management in the renewables sector, at least 2 years of which were spent working in offshore wind farm project development.

She has experience in multi-contract, EPCI and tier-2 open book tendering strategies and commercial management.

With a university background in modern languages, Iona has a keen interest in collaboration with the global supply chain to promote sustainable sourcing across the world.

  • CIPS Diploma in Procurement and Supply
  • APM Project Management Qualification
Linkedin-in

Gordon Thomson

SENIOR o&m ENGINEER

Gordon is an experienced Project and O&M Engineer with over 5 years of experience in renewables and defence. His work in renewables has sought to progress the development and implementation of new technologies including floating offshore wind farms. He completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering focusing on the development of next generation renewable technologies that are now being utilised in wave energy generation. And his previous industrial experience has involved leading the development of software tools addressing a wide range of technical and economic challenges. 

 

In his current role as Senior O&M engineer, Gordon has also led the development of a range of software tools including Vekta’s O&M, construction, and wind tools.  He has also led a range of consultancy projects at Vekta, including fixed / floating offshore wind and HV transmission hubs.

Linkedin-in

Olive

Chief Morale Officer

Olive is our resident office dog in Edinburgh.  She is a working Cocker Spaniel with excellent people skills.  She is friendly and approachable and boosts team morale.

She encourages her colleagues to keep a clean desk policy, leave nothing available to chew and to increase their activity levels with lunch time walking sessions.

With over ten months of experience in helping people to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and ensure they take proper breaks she has quickly become a valuable addition to our office based team.

Linkedin-in

Paul Sweeney

Senior O&M Lead

Paul is an experienced Project and O&M Engineer with 3 years of project experience in the renewables sector. He has experience on a number of development projects and in project acquisitions.

He has refined both his technical and economic skillsets acquired from his university studies to incorporate operational data. He has experience from development, construction and operational phases of projects.

  • Opex models for CFD3 and CES R4
  • Due diligence for wind farm acquisitions
  • Development of O&M software tools
Linkedin-in Twitter

Helen Wade

External Advisor

Helen is a project finance professional who has specialised in the renewable energy sector for nearly 20 years and, in that time, she has completed over €3.5 billion deals globally across all proven technologies, including ground-breaking and award-winning transactions.  Having closed so many projects she understands every element of what is needed to establish a robust and long-term commercially viable project. Her use of project finance risk mitigation disciplines ensures that projects are resilient to a wide range of potential impacts on performance.

Helen applies her learning from these many transactions to make sure there is equal focus on maximising returns, reducing costs and saving time.  She has been at the centre of the project transaction process for many years on behalf of both senior debt project finance and equity which means she is able to anticipate the needs of equity and debt investors to work alongside project developers to ensure every part of a project is structured to attract investment.  Helen is equally happy originating projects for investors to meet their specific investment parameters.

Linkedin-in Twitter

Ryan Henderson

External Advisor

Ryan is a skilled leader with over 25 years experience in the power and renewables industry with demonstrated skills in growing and managing successful companies, power networks management and building successful teams and cultures.  Ryan is focused on adding real value to clients and has a very entrepreneurial approach.

Most recently, Ryan has been supporting a variety of businesses while growing his own investment portfolio.  Prior to that, he led the formation and growth of EDS HV into an industry-leading company within the field of HV jointing, testing, network asset management and operational control services.

Linkedin-in Twitter

Angela Montacute

Non-executive director

Angela is a seasoned Senior Executive with over 30 years of experience in the financial and professional services industries. As Chief Operating Officer had global responsibility across 30 countries for IT, Marketing, Digital, Operations, Data Intelligence and Innovation

Specialising in business and digital transformation and supporting sustainable and ethical brands Angela now runs her own E-Commerce business and advises Boards in both a Non-Executive and Independent Advisor capacity to help them achieve their fullest potential

MBA University of Bath

 

Linkedin-in Twitter

Joanna De Montgros

External Advisor

Joanna is a founding partner at Everoze and a specialist in both technical and commercial aspects of renewable energy and storage projects. Prior to co-founding Everoze, Jo led global Project Engineering services for DNV GL and was a member of the DNV GL Renewable Advisory Board.

Jo’s achievement include: delivering expansion of independent engineering services for Garrad Hassan into new global markets, supporting investment of more than £4 billion into solar, wind, marine and storage projects (technical due diligence services) and supporting a variety of innovative projects and development in the sector.

 

Linkedin-in Twitter

Gordon Thomson

SENIOR o&m ENGINEER

Gordon is an experienced Project and O&M Engineer with over 5 years of experience in renewables and defence. His work in renewables has sought to progress the development and implementation of new technologies including floating offshore wind farms. He completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering focusing on the development of next generation renewable technologies that are now being utilised in wave energy generation. And his previous industrial experience has involved leading the development of software tools addressing a wide range of technical and economic challenges. 

 

In his current role as Senior O&M engineer, Gordon has also led the development of a range of software tools including Vekta’s O&M, construction, and wind tools.  He has also led a range of consultancy projects at Vekta, including fixed / floating offshore wind and HV transmission hubs.

Linkedin-in