Neil Grimstone

Neil Grimstone set up Brandis Energy in April 2002, following over 20 years in the energy industry, including both the power generation and oil & gas sectors. He was previously Managing Director of Covanta Energy Europe, where he was responsible for the development and acquisition of independent power and Waste to Energy projects in the territory.

He joined Covanta in June 1999 from Edison Mission Energy, where he was latterly Regional Vice President, Business Strategy for EME’s Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa. Earlier roles with EME included Managing Director - Mediterranean Region, based in Rome, and Finance Director, Europe.

Before joining EME in 1992, he held a series of management positions in the oil and gas industry with BP, IC Gas and Conoco.

He is a UK national with 1st Class Honours degree in Economics from Reading University and a Master of Philosophy degree from the Law Faculty of Edinburgh University. He speaks Italian, Spanish and French.

Melanie Rosengarten (Germany)

Melanie Rosengarten has over 20 years’ experience in transactions, restructurings, and privatisations in the energy and other sectors. She has previously held managerial positions in Edison Mission Energy, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, the German Privatisation Agency in Berlin, and German consulting company, Kienbaum.

As Managing Director of Brandis Deutschland GmbH, she and her team are responsible for providing commercial management services in Germany for an 82MW portfolio covering 8 windfarms on behalf of an international investor.

She holds a Masters Degree from the University of Munich in Business Studies, Economics, Politics and International Law, and is fluent to native speaker level in both English and German.

John Acton (UK)

As Director of Technologies, John brings a wealth of business experience and engineering knowledge to Brandis, the result of a long and successful career in infrastructure and environmental development and consulting companies.

He was formerly Chief Executive and Director of Engineering for Compact Power Limited, responsible for the development and commercialisation of an advanced thermal process for Energy from Waste using pyrolysis and gasification, having been with the company since its foundation in 1993.

Prior to joining Compact Power, he held senior positions in South West Water, E S & A Robinson, the Port of Bristol Authority, Anglesey Aluminium, CIBA Geigy and Ewbank Preece, the latter as Partner responsible for the firm's Department of Electrical, Mechanical and Building Services Engineering.

John is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET). He graduated in Electrical Engineering from the University of London.

Marius Kleiven (Scandinavia)

Marius Kleiven brings over 15 years of experience in the identification and pursuit of opportunities in the Waste to Energy and industrial sectors, both in Scandinavia and elsewhere.

He was previously Market Manager for Organic Power, a Norwegian renewable energy with a proprietary waste gasification technology, now further developed and marketed by Brandis client, Kentec. Prior to that, as Controller and Financial Manager, he arranged for international financing and guarantee facilities in connection with the company's activities.

As well as being responsible for all banking relationships, treasury functions, statutory reporting, management accounting and human resources. Before joining Organic Power, he was a Market Analyst for a Norwegian paper company, and previously carried out similar roles for other private sector organisations.

Marius is a Norwegian national with Degree in Business and Economics from the Norwegian School of Management. He is based in Oslo and is fluent in all Scandinavian languages as well as in English.

Sarah Hedgecock (UK)

Sarah Hedgecock has 20 years of experience working in financial management, planning, analysis, and audit, within a number of different roles in the public and private sector, and currently offers consulting services, providing financial analysis and management accounting expertise.

Sarah’s career includes spells with Covanta Energy, as the Senior Financial Analyst for the European Division, VSO as a Business Advisor based Mozambique, Bass Plc, mainly with their international brewing businesses in the Czech Republic and China, and their UK based export business, and PwC, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

She has a First Class Honours degree in Applied Biology from Aston University in Birmingham. She also has an MBA from Lancaster University.

Laura Bano (Italy)

Laura Bano has over 20 years of experience working in the energy sector in consulting, project development and finance. Based in Padova, her recent focus has been in the development and project management of small/medium scale photovoltaic facilities.  She has in recent years also worked as a researcher and freelance consultant in the energy sector, with particular emphasis on regulation, support mechanisms and development of renewable energy sources both in Italy and elsewhere.

Laura was previously employed as a Manager in the Power and Utilities Group of Barclays Capital in London, involved in the analysis and structuring of energy project financings, in Edison Mission Energy’s Business Development Group in their European office in London and as an Economist with Italian energy consulting firm RIE.

She has the equivalent of a First Class Honours degree in Economics from Bologna University and was awarded a Ph.D in “Energetics” by the University of Padova for research into regulatory, technical and economic aspects of renewable energy production.

She speaks Italian, English, German and Spanish.

Peter Hunt-Davis (Finance)

Peter has been an independent consultant since 2008 after spending over five years in Investec Bank's Project and Infrastructure Team in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Prior to joining Investec in April 2003, he worked at Abbey National Treasury Services (Investment Bank) in the London office in the Project Finance team.  Peter has accumulate d more than eighteen years’ experience in energy and power related projects since he joined Edison Mission Energy, an Independent Power Developer (IPP), as a senior financial analyst in 1997 from Dresdner Kleinwort Benson (Investment bank) London office. He played a key role in most of EME's European projects, including developments and investments in the UK, Spain, Italy and Turkey across a wide range of energy technologies, both conventional (gas and coal fired) and renewable (Solar PV, Wind, run-of-river Hydro and pumped storage.

He has recently been heavily involved in advising clients for renewable energy projects in Southern Africa, both with regard to project development and financing.

Malgorzata Murza-Mucha (Poland)

Malgorzata Murza-Mucha provides analytical, linguistic and logistical support for Brandis consulting activities in the Polish energy and waste markets.

She is a graduate of the School of Architecture in Warsaw and was awarded an MA in French by the University of Warsaw.

Malgorzata is based in Warsaw and is fluent in Polish, English and French.