about us
directors
the board of directors
Hepburn Wind is managed by a voluntary board of nine Directors. Following the Annual General Meeting of 28 April 2010 the Directors are:
Simon Holmes à Court, Chairman
Koos Hulst, Deputy Chairman & Secretary
Martin May, Treasurer
Brett Dutton, Director
Phil Hanson, Director
Vicki Horrigan, Director
Scott Kinnear, Director
Daniel Magasanik, Director
Kate Redwood, Director
Simon Holmes à Court, Chairman
Simon Holmes à Court has a strong connection to the Daylesford/Hepburn region and a long-standing interest in renewable energy. He understands that environmentally sustainable technologies also need to be financially sustainable. Simon headed a project researching alternate energy solutions for remote cattle stations in the Northern Territory, and his farm, located between Daylesford and Leonards Hill, is powered by a solar-hybrid system. Simon has qualifications in Cognitive and Computer Science and Applied Finance and Investment from US and Australian institutions. He has a broad range of commercial experience, ranging from 'dot com' businesses in Silicon Valley to remote cattle stations in the Northern Territory. Simon has previously been director of Heytesbury Pty Ltd, one of Australia’s largest private companies, and is the Chairman of Melbourne based Observant Pty Ltd, which designs and manufactures highly-scalable infrastructure monitoring and automation solutions for urban and remote areas.
Koos Hulst, Deputy Chairman & Secretary
Koos has a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a Master's degree in process engineering from Delft University in The Netherlands. Koos is also a graduate of the Permaculture Design Course conducted by the Permaculture Institute at Melbourne University in September 2005. Throughout his engineering career, Koos has worked for both large and small engineering firms in The Netherlands and The Philippines, and he currently works in Australia as an environmental engineer, designing and constructing biological treatment facilities for industrial wastewater. Koos believes in the need for sustainable development into the future, and sees the Wind Park as an ideal solution for the future of the region’s energy supply. As such Koos is contributing his extensive engineering and project management experience to help ensure the success of the project.
Martin May, Treasurer
Martin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Melbourne University majoring in Economics. Martin's working life has been in the finance industry, working both in Australia and New York for banks and stockbroking firms. More recently he was a Director of an Australian life company, Challenger Life, where he was also a member of the Investment Committee responsible for investing statutory funds. Currently he runs a funds management business based in Melbourne and he also sits on an Investment Committee for a financial planning company. Martin has a strong interest in environmental issues and believes that Hepburn Wind is an important project on many levels and can become the basis for a national model of community renewable energy sites. Martin has had a holiday house in Daylesford for the past 11 years. In Melbourne he is an active member of the Bayside Climate Change Action Group.
Brett Dutton, Director
After spending 20 years in the Royal Australian Navy, Brett opted to use his management and engineering skills in the renewable energy sector and for the last five years has had several roles with renewable energy companies. He has project managed the installation of over 200 MW of wind farm projects in both Australia and New Zealand. Brett owns a small property near Glenlyon and has been involved with the Hepburn Wind project since its inception in 2005 as a member of the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association, and later as its Secretary for one year.
Phil Hanson, Director
Phil has been on the Committee of the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association Inc since its establishment. He has been active in community organisations for most of his professional career and is particularly passionate about environmental sustainability. As a Director and senior financial manager he has been responsible for the financial management and welfare of three award winning organisations, ranging in size from $8m to $150m in turnover. Phil qualified as a CPA in 1984, an FCPA in 2004 and graduated for the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 2005. He is excited about the benefits Australia's first community owned and managed wind farm will bring to Hepburn and its residents.
Vicki Horrigan, Director
Vicki has lived in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs since 1991 and her commitment in supporting renewable energy initiatives has been demonstrated in her home in Hepburn Springs, where a hybrid wind and solar system has been meeting her family’s power needs for the past 13 years. Vicki has extensive involvement in local community activities through the Daylesford primary and secondary schools and a number of local sporting groups. Vicki has an Arts/Law degree and has practised law since 1987 working in the community sector. For the past 8 years Vicki has worked in the Victorian public service and in her most recent role has moved away from law to a senior project manager position that focuses on effective and accountable governance and management of complex projects within the health and welfare area.
Scott Kinnear, Director
Scott was Vice President of the Hepburn Renewable Energy Association Inc between 2005 and 2007. Scott and his family have lived near Daylesford since 2001 on an organic farm and he owns and operates the Organic Wholefoods retail stores in Melbourne. Scott has a long involvement in community organisations as the former Chair of the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES), former and founding Chair of the Organic Federation of Australia (OFA), current Board Member of Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) and current Chair of GeneEthics Network. Scott is passionately committed to community ownership and the taking of responsibility for the renewable generation of our energy needs.
Daniel Magasanik, Director
Daniel was a founding director of the Energy Research and Development Corporation, funded by the Australian Government. It invested in projects with industry participants. The focus was on energy efficiency and reducing environmental impacts. He was also the co-founder of McLennan Magasanik Associates, one of Australia's leading consultancies specialising in the energy industries. Daniel now works part-time with the firm. His main interest is the sustainability of human activities, particularly the extraction and conversion of energy. Generation of electricity from wind and geothermal sources are two examples. Daniel holds degrees in chemical engineering from McGill University in Montreal and the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. The Magasanik family has a longstanding connection with the Daylesford area through having participated in orienteering on the many detailed maps that were made and used for this purpose. The present connection is through a block of land bordering on the Wombat State Forest near Korweinguboora.
Kate Redwood, Director
Kate Redwood is a resident of Daylesford. She is involved in a range of community activities including being Secretary of the Daylesford Football Netball Club and Vice President of the Friends of Cornish Hill conservation group. In the course of her career Kate has held senior management roles with significant community service organisations, and has served two terms as an elected councillor for the City of Melbourne in the course of which she chaired the Committee for Environment, Community and Cultural Development. Kate has also held a range of Board appointments over the last 20 years. She is currently serving a third term as Director of Melbourne Health (the Royal Melbourne Hospital and associated entities) and is a Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. She has been a member of the Advisory Board for the Melbourne Juris Doctor – the University of Melbourne Law School’s accelerated law course and a Director of State Trustees Ltd.
Kate holds a bachelor of arts and bachelor of social work. She has also completed an accelerated MBA. Kate received an Australian Centenary Medal for services to local government and the community in 2001.