Grant Behrendorff

Chairman, Ekistica Board

Grant is a dynamic and innovative leader and entrepreneur in the renewable energy sector in Australia.  He is an accomplished and respected business owner, developer and manager with over 30 years experience working in a range of technical and senior managerial roles across the utility, NGO and private sectors. He has a passion for leadership and change, and is a sucker for a challenge.

Grant has a proven ability to recognise opportunity, formulate and share a vision, and assemble and lead the resources required to realise it. These skills have been demonstrated in numerous successful roles and projects in the energy sector in Australia, India, North America, and the Pacific Islands.

In 2011 Grant co-founded AC Solar Warehouse which has grown rapidly to become the largest specialist AC Solar wholesale business in the Asia Pacific region.

LYNDON FREARSON

Managing Director & Principal Consultant

Lyndon is a leader in the field of remote and regional infrastructure development and deployment, policy and financing. A chartered electrical engineer, Lyndon’s experience includes seven years in heavy industry and automotive manufacturing as a production manager, design engineer and project manager, and over a decade in the energy sector, with a focus on renewables. As Ekistica’s Managing Director and Principal Consultant, Lyndon has overseen its development as regional and remote Australia’s leading advisory and technical consultancy firm. In this role, he is and continued to be one of Australia’s thought-leaders in the energy sector.

Olivia Coldrey

Olivia has 25 years experience in energy markets, gained in legal, finance and strategy roles in the public and private sectors and in international organisations. She has held senior executive or senior advisory positions with Sustainable Energy for All, REEEP, the Australian Solar Institute, the Asian Development Bank and UNDP.

Starting her career as a lawyer, for 12 years Olivia advised on project and structured trade finance and political risk insurance transactions with Baker McKenzie, Latham & Watkins, and in-house at Export Finance Australia. A Fulbright Scholar and U.S. Department of State Climate Change Fellow, Olivia is admitted as a Lawyer in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

NIKI ROSS

CEO, Centre for Appropriate Technology Ltd.

Niki, of Kaytetye and Arrente heritage, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Appropriate Technology Ltd, Ekistica’s parent company.

Niki has spent the past decade working across policy, project management, and community development in Indigenous Affairs, spanning a range of sectors including Indigenous organizations, government, industry, and security.

Niki has worked throughout the Northern Territory and is passionate about supporting remote Aboriginal communities establishing opportunities through employment, education and economic development.

Jo Hume

General Manager at Fulcrum3D

Jo is a Masters degree qualified engineer with over 20 years engineering and commercial experience across the energy and sustainable development sectors. She has deep experience in investment strategy, analysis and management. She has also evaluated and worked on energy companies and technologies with valuations from $10m to $10b.

Jo is currently the General Manager for a Fulcrum3D (a wind and solar energy monitoring and forecasting company). She was previously a Venture Partner at the Renewable Energy Venture Capital fund and has worked on major projects and investments at AGL and CVC, and ran the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development.