Our People

People make a business, and we are proud to have some of the leading experts in hydropower in our team. We are based in Perth where we run our operations, maintenance, and management systems for our fleet of hydropower assets. Our technical teams operate out of Dingwall where we have a team of engineers and technicians who provide the expert support required to keep a portfolio of hydropower projects running optimally.

Alex Reading

CEO
Alex was one of the first employees at Green Highland and has been instrumental in growing the business into one of the UK’s leading hydropower companies. Prior to joining, Alex served for seven years in the British Army. He holds an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering from Newcastle University. He is also Chairman of the British Hydropower Association.

Raphael Baeurlen

Green Highland Board Member
Raphael Baeurlen is the Global Head of HyService CAPEX (Refurbishments & Upgrades) at Voith Hydro, based in Heidenheim, Germany. With over a decade of experience in hydropower, he manages the global portfolio of CAPEX projects within the HyService segment, focusing on strategic business development and excellence in project execution. Raphael has held various leadership positions in engineering / product development and program management throughout his career. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics from Aalen University.

Sunil Pandiri

Green Highland Board Member
Sunil Pandiri is part of the global Board of Management of Voith Hydro. As Chief Service Officer he will continue to strategically expand the company's service portfolio. Sunil Pandiri started his career in 2004 as a project manager at Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. in India. In 2006, he joined Siemens and in the following years held various positions in international sales, product management, strategy, operations, and general management functions. Between 2017 and 2019 he was responsible for the global service business for steam turbines. From 2020 to 2022, he was CEO of the Siemens portfolio company Sykatec GmbH. Most recently, he held the position of CEO Region North Europe & Middle East at Siemens Gamesa. In addition to his mechanical engineering studies, Sunil Pandiri holds an MBA degree from IESE Business School (Spain), a digital diploma from IMD (Switzerland) and completed a Harvard General Management Program (USA).

Richard Hearnden

O&M Business Development Manager
Richard has over 15 years of experience in the Operations, Maintenance, and heavy engineering of Large Hydro schemes, he brings a wealth of knowledge to Green Highland having operated, maintained and improved profitability at some of the UK’s largest Hydroelectric schemes both in terms of installed capacity and annual production. His experience extends into the UK power balancing mechanism and trading markets, Hydro production optimisation, Reservoir operations and management, Pumped Storage development and operations, Grid and Auxiliary services both at Transmission and Distribution levels, as well as Blackstart. Richard is responsible for the development and growth of the Operations and Maintenance services within Green Highland, the development of the performance analytics to provide visibility and deliver the very best value from the assets. He holds an Honours degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Edinburgh and is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers

Robert Deacon

Operations and Maintenance Manager
Robert Deacon is the Operations and Maintenance manager at Green Highland, he leads a talented and dedicated team of Engineers in the day to day running of 57 hydroelectric schemes. Robert joined Green Highland in 2015 during the construction phase of the schemes, he and the team played a big part in the installation and commissioning of many of the turbines, a learning experience like no other. From an early age, Robert always had an interest in how machinery works, an interest that led him into engineering. After beginning his career with a diesel engine manufacturer, Robert switched direction to contribute towards a greener future. Like all members of the team, Robert is enthusiastic about renewable energy and in particular, hydro turbines. He can now combine an interest in machinery with a passion for a green future.