Meet The Team

Jo Butlin - Chair                   

Jo Butlin joined Thrive as Non-Executive Director in May 2022 and took on the role of Chair of the Board in June. Jo, a qualified Chartered Accountant, has worked in the Energy sector for most of her career. She now holds a number of Non Executive roles. She is Chair of Ofgem’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) Performance Panel, Chair of the Board at The Energy Consortium (TEC), a Non-Executive Director of both Kensa Group Ltd and REGEN Ltd. Jo is also a founder member and Director of the Women's Utilities Network (WUN), a not-for-profit organisation which supports women in developing their careers in the utilities sector. 

Matthew Clayton - Managing Director

Matthew has worked in the Thrive Renewables team since 2006 and undertakes the overall full-time management of Thrive Renewables Plc. In this time Matthew has contributed to 27-fold growth in the Company. Prior to joining Triodos Bank, Matthew was part of a small team which established Camco International, one of the world’s leading carbon trading companies, focusing on supporting sustainable energy projects via the Kyoto framework.

Katrina Cross - Finance Director         

Katrina has been working for Thrive Renewables since 2012, first as Head of Finance and Operations and then as Finance Director and Company Secretary. Katrina is a qualified accountant and previously spent seven years with Watts Gregory as Head of Audit and another seven years as Finance Director of an environmental company that remediated contaminated land. 

Colin Morgan - Non-executive Director

Colin is a Chartered Engineer who has worked in the renewable energy industry since 1987. He also works as a partner in Everoze, one of the clean energy industry’s leading technical and commercial consultancy firms, which he co-founded. In his career Colin has worked in wide-ranging management and technical roles spanning offshore wind energy, onshore wind energy, solar energy and battery storage.   

Charles Middleton - Senior Independent Director

Charles has spent much of his career in banking including 14 years as Managing Director of Triodos Bank in the UK. He is currently on the boards of Palladium Impact Capital and Bamboo Capital Partners, part of the Palladium Group, an international development organisation. Over the last 10 years he has practised as a psychotherapist and coach working with individuals and teams.

Katie Gordon - Non-executive Director

Katie is an expert in socially responsible investment (SRI) and corporate marketing. She was Head of SRI at Cazenove Capital Management and later Director of Responsible Investment and Stewardship at CCLA. Katie has acted as a trustee of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and board director of UK Sustainable Investment Forum (UKSIF). She is currently a NED of Microbz, senior adviser to the Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI), and a member of the Expert Advisory Group for Snowball IM and the Food Foundation. 

Peter Weston - Non-executive Director

Peter is Managing Director at Energy 4 Impact, a non-profit organisation which supports vulnerable communities and small businesses in sustainable and off-grid energy in Sub Saharan Africa. Peter is an expert in renewable energy, with more than 28 years’ experience as an investor, lender and strategic adviser in the sector. He is a former board member of Renewable World and visiting lecturer at ESCP Business School and has previously held senior management positions at Siemens Wind Power and GE Energy Financial Services.  

Tania Songini - Non-executive Director

Tania joined the Board as Chair of the Audit Committee in 2015. She has built a portfolio of non-executive director roles in the renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure sector, including companies such as – the Energy Systems Catapult, Guernsey Electricity and the UK Infrastructure Bank. Tania worked for leading global engineering and technology services company Siemens until 2015, where she held a number of finance and commercial director roles, including for Siemens’ energy business. Tania is the Chair of ViaNinos UK, a charity supporting street children in Ecuador.  

Monika Paplaczyk – Investment Director

Monika joined the team in 2007 whilst the company was managed by Triodos Bank. In her role as Investment Director, Monika leads the investment team in the originating, development, acquisition and construction of sustainable energy assets, as well as managing the commercial aspects of the portfolio. Monika was a member of the advisory group for Innovate UK’s ‘Prospering from The Energy Revolution’ challenge, which invested up to £102.5 million in industry and research to accelerate innovation in smart local energy systems.

Adrian Warman – Head of Operations

Adrian joined Thrive Renewables in 2012 in response to the company’s growing portfolio of sustainable energy projects. The Head of Operations role is to ensure contracts are in place and fulfilled to allow assets to run safely and most productively over the long-term, in line with legislation and industry standards. Previously, Adrian spent seven years at a senior level with a leading carbon reduction company focused on identifying and implementing appropriate energy saving measures in the built environment. 

Louise Daniels - Head of Communications  & Marketing 

Louise joined Thrive in September 2018. She has been working in marketing and communications for more than 25 years, initially in PR consultancy and latterly in house for ethical business and social enterprises. Renewable energy is one of her passions and she has previously managed PR for Good Energy and Mongoose Energy. At Thrive, Louise is responsible for managing communication with all external stakeholders. In her spare time, she is a Board member for Bath & West Community Energy.   

Karen Pugh - Financial Accountant

Karen joined Thrive Renewables in 2014 and was promoted to Financial Accountant in 2018. Karen’s main role is to prepare the management accounts for the operational sites in our portfolio along with the day-to-day accounting activities of these sites.  Prior to this, she worked for an American library management software company as an Assistant Accountant. Karen is ACCA qualified and is a full member of the body.

Chris Grainger - Development Manager

Chris is a chartered engineer with 12 years’ experience developing renewable energy projects in the UK, US and Middle East. At Thrive, he manages the development of new projects, supporting both community and private development partners from inception through to operation. Chris also oversees the repowering of Thrive’s existing portfolio. In his spare time, Chris is a founding Director of Arran Community Renewables, developing and investing in community owned renewables on the Isle of Arran.

Tom Barratt - Investment Manager

Tom is a mechanical engineer with an MBA and over 25 years’ experience in the power sector. He managed hydro projects before joining a consultancy providing engineering and project management services to developers and investors in the renewables industry. In this capacity he was the project manager for Thrive Renewables’ windfarms at Avonmouth, Boardinghouse, Auchtygills and Clayfords. Tom joined Thrive in 2018 as Investment Manager, responsible for researching new investment opportunities and sectors, modelling and executing investments in line with Thrive’s investment criteria.

Otis Harrison - Investment Manager

Otis is a CFA Charterholder with over 8 years’ experience in banking, environmental corporate finance, green investments, renewables project development and financial modelling. He is responsible for originating and executing investment opportunities, financial modelling and analysing other commercial aspects of Thrive’s portfolio.

Jim Miller - Investment Manager

Jim joined the team in August 2023 as an Investment Manager, with a focus on originating and executing new debt and equity transactions for Thrive. Jim joined from GuarantCo in London, a company that provides credit guarantees to enable sustainable infrastructure development in emerging economies throughout Africa and South Asia. Prior to this he worked at Triodos Bank, closing several notable transactions in the UK renewable energy space.

Lydia Westmore - Portfolio Manager

Lydia joined Thrive in June 2021, having worked with the company previously as part of the Corporate Finance team at Triodos Bank. Lydia is a Chartered Accountant with experience in financial modelling, corporate finance and investment appraisals. She is responsible for researching new investment opportunities and sectors, modelling and executing investments, as well as overseeing portfolio modelling and risk analysis.

David Matheson - Senior Sustainability Analyst 

David joined the team as Sustainability Analyst in June 2022, with a focus on measuring, monitoring, and enhancing Thrive's environmental and social impact. He oversees the company's net zero and biodiversity strategies, as well as manages Thrive's B Corp commitment. David has previous experience working in the ecology and environmental consultancy sector and he is passionate about the role of business in addressing climate change.

Alex Lomax - Communications Manager 

Alex joined Thrive in August 2021. She has seven years’ experience working at PR agencies in London and Bristol, delivering the communication programmes for businesses in the energy, financial and technology sectors. Alex is responsible for planning and implementing Thrive's day-to-day communications activity and is the main point of contact for media.

Anna Cooper - Digital Communications & Marketing Executive 

Anna joined Thrive in March 2023 as a member of the communications team. She is responsible for creating multi-media content for the website and social media, monitoring website performance and supporting investor and media relations. Prior to joining Thrive, Anna had over a year and a half experience in professional copywriting for a marketing agency that she joined soon after completing her MA at the University of Edinburgh.

Harry Marchant - Administrative Support

Harry joined Thrive in December 2022. He works closely with Thrive’s investment team, providing organisational support which includes conducting market research and helping with reporting, and also oversees all administrative duties in the office. Graduating with a degree in French from the University of Bristol in 2021, he joined us after spending a year working in Kenya.

Bridge Wind Management is a dynamic organisation with considerable experience across the renewables sector and well aligned to the values and objectives of Thrive Renewables. They have a range of internal expertise, demonstrated through their development business and employed by Thrive Renewables in its asset and site management services.

WPO is an international organisation with experience of renewable energy development and management across the globe. Over many years, Thrive is delighted to have built a strong working relationship with their UK team, bringing new projects into our portfolio and assisting with the management of an increasingly complex number of operational sites.