Meet The Team

Simon Gosling

Managing Director

Simon’s role is to develop Energynet’s global business portfolio, with a specific focus on government and private investment in Africa’s power and industrial infrastructure sectors.

Simon’s work with the public and private sectors in growing economies provides our clients an important inroad to explore quickly and accurately P&L structures of projects and enables investors to react quickly to market and political changes. He is passionate about job creation and keenly aware of the many industrial sector opportunities and their role in delivering public and private sector growth.

Simon loves comedy, but for the life of him, cannot ever remember a joke; oh, apart from the one about that guy – you know!?

Simon.Gosling@EnergyNet.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7384 8073

Shiddika Mohamed

Group Director

Shiddika has extensive experience in channelling investments through the events sector and has worked closely with Governments and leading businesses across Europe, America, Asia, Africa and more recently Latin America, to achieve this.

As Group Director for EnergyNet, Shiddika manages the delivery of content of the conferences and meeting’s for the ‘World Portfolio’ this includes the Africa Energy Forum, which has grown to become the largest most respected international gathering of Governments Ministers and the global energy industry in driving forward Africa’s Energy sector. Shiddika understands the crucial need for developing energy in ‘growing economies’ to aid social and economic growth and to eliminate poverty, therefore is passionate about getting the message across.

Before joining EnergyNet, Shiddika worked in global capital markets. As part of this for over 8 years she was responsible for developing and leading the world’s flagship portfolio of conferences in the currency markets. The annual conferences were held in London, New York, Tokyo and Singapore, attracting Central Bank Governors and the world’s most prominent currency investors often moving currency markets as a result of the discussions.

Shiddika studied Politics at the University of Warwick in the UK, and has an interest in economic and political developments. In her spare time Shiddika loves travelling, and is not afraid to jump on to a plane to explore destinations off the beaten track. She enjoys, hiking, hanging out with her nephews and nieces, and when she can find time curling up on the sofa with a good book or movie.

Damon Thompson

Commercial Director

Damon is an experienced event sales professional with widespread experience across b2b conferences and exhibitions in the IT, Retail, Energy and Telecoms sectors. He has also worked extensively in the publishing industry, having launched successful telecoms titles for the Middle East and Africa and he also ran his own event business for 5 years – Retail Events, launching a successful portfolio of conferences in the retail IT sector.

In addition Damon has launched a series of food and drink exhibitions in Russia and Ukraine and worked with the British government on the Britain Means Business Expo in Prague and a range of oil and gas conferences in Moscow and St Petersburg. Damon joined EnergyNet in February 2012 as Commercial Director and is responsible for all sponsorship and exhibit sales across the business and for shaping the commercial strategy for AEF, AIF and our portfolio of Powering Africa Series events.

Outside of work Damon enjoys playing tennis, acting and singing with theatre groups and a Rockaoke band and spending time with family and friends.

Damon.Thompson@EnergyNet.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7384 7957

Jen Richardson

Group Sales Director

Jen joined EnergyNet in January 2019 and has over 10 years’ experience working in conferences, publishing and events. Having worked globally in healthcare, law and finance she was excited to make the move to the energy sector.

Jen is responsible for the sponsorship and delegate strategy across the African and Latin America portfolios She is passionate about delivering quality events for our clients and communities which have tangible outcomes for the sector.

As a good northerner Jen loves football, rugby and of course gravy - but her real passions are travelling and acting. Her spare time is spent with her local drama group ‘The Crouch End Players’ and she gives herself points for enthusiasm and effort … if not talent!

When she’s not treading the boards she’s travelling – and now that she has her advanced PADI, anywhere with exciting scuba diving has rocketed to the top of her wish list.

George Hudson

Business Development Manager

George has been at EnergyNet since September 2014, having graduated that year from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Geography. Having been brought up in Putney, George is delighted to have the shortest commute to the office every day.

Since joining EnergyNet he has worked on a number of exciting projects in a variety of markets, including the expansion of the West African portfolio into Ghana, the launch of the pan-African Powering Africa Summit in the U.S., as well as meetings across the East African region. George is looking forward to moving into a slightly different role at EnergyNet, focusing on developing the company’s portfolio across West Africa, which will expose him to challenging and dynamic markets across the region.

Outside of work George is a keen sportsman, playing for two different football teams each week, as well as being an avid Fulham FC fan (for his sins).

Howard Yuchetel

Commercial Manager

Howard has been working within the events sector for the last five years with widespread experience across Retail, IT, Construction, Health Service and Aid & International Development. Before moving in to the events sector, Howard had worked in the banking sector for 5 years.

Howard joined EnergyNet at the start of 2012 to help revolutionise the way that delegates are catered for at each of the different meeting across the year, including helping to shape the delegate strategy for Africa Energy Forum, Africa Infrastructure Forum and the Powering Africa Series, making himself an asset to the team with his boundless enthusiasm and new ideas.

Outside of work Howard is a great chap to be around, as he is always up for a laugh - that is unless you get involved in a football discussion with him about his beloved Tottenham Hotspur.

howard.yuchetel@energynet.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7384 7975.

Amy Offord

Head of Marketing

Amy has been at EnergyNet for the past eight years developing the marketing department within the business. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of East Anglia, and key areas of interest include marketing communications, content strategy, copy-writing, research and audience development.

Amy is also the Editor of the Africa Energy Yearbook, the official publication of the Africa Energy Forum. The Yearbook features non-commercial articles by leading industry experts and academics with a vested interest in the future of Africa's economic, industrial and social development.

In her spare time Amy loves exploring new countries, sketching, running and cooking, and is also partial to the odd skydive...

Amy.Offord@EnergyNet.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7384 8068

Fiona Gleeson

Marketing Manager: Africa Portfolio

Fiona born and bred in Northern Ireland crossed the pond to London for university, 7 years ago and now holds a bachelor’s degree in Event Management and Marketing.

Fiona has worked in the marketing and events industry for the past 4 years’. From exhibitions, summits and conferences to media and monitoring intelligence, she has experience within a variety of sectors including health and social care, travel, political and public, publishing, IT and cyber security.

Outside of work Fiona enjoys going to Irish dancing classes in her spare time after having competed during her younger years, the odd bit of travelling, eating out and of course having a wee drink in a good pub with friends.

Charlotte Wood-Dow

Operations Manager

Charlotte has worked in the events sector for the past 3 years. Joining EnergyNet in November 2015 as Operations Manager, she now takes responsibility for bringing the venues and suppliers together to ensure an enjoyable and successful event experience for all EnergyNet's delegates. She has always had a passion for events, whether it was organising a charity ball or working at the London Olympics. She is always on hand to support the team and all the event sponsors and can be found at the registration desk at most events; so do come and say hello!

Charlotte holds a BA degree in French and International Relations. Outside of work she is always up for an adventure, whether it is cycling from London to Paris or trekking up a mountain to find the best snow to ski. She also enjoys travelling, cooking, sports and spending time with friends.

Verena Lester

Global Operations Director

Vee has worked in event operations for almost 20 years running events in pretty much every continent. No challenge is too big… the bigger the challenge, the bigger the fun of finding the solution to make it happen!

Outside of the busy work life she loves spending as much time as possible with her husband, 2 kids and the crazy dog, enjoying the great outdoors in the countryside, baking, savouring some home cooked food, a good glass of red wine by a cosy log fire!

Jenny Morgan

Credit Controller

Jenny is an experienced event credit control professional working within the events sector for the last year with experience across the energy, genomic medicine and internet retailing.

Jenny officially joined EnergyNet team in August 2016 but started working on our biggest forum AEF from May 2016 as a conference account controller responsible for all delegate, exhibitor and sponsorship invoicing and payments across the business.

Outside of work Jenny enjoys the gym, cooking for friends, drawing and loves her dog!

Jennifer Arnau

Producer

Jenny joined EnergyNet in June 2019 and her first day was spent flying out to Lisbon for aef 2019 – not your standard first day! She is working closely with Shiddika Mohamed and Simon Gosling to deliver exciting conferences in Latin America. Jenny holds a MSc in Political Research from the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow), where she did her dissertation on Government Policy and Income Inequality in Latin America.

Despite sounding Scottish, Jenny is actually born and raised in Barcelona, being both Spanish and Scottish, which has some team members confused on how it’s possible she only spent 5 years in Scotland and 18 years in Spain, and has a Scottish accent?! Those genes run strong… She absolutely loves everything about Latin America: the countries, the food, the people and the accents. So far she’s only visited Mexico and Dominican Republic but she is eager to travel as much as possible during her time in Energynet, and is thrilled to visit Peru for the Latin American Gas Conference in November 2019.

In her spare time, she loves drawing, watching documentaries, dancing salsa and, since moving to London, she’s a big fan of Irish pubs!

Karmen Tornius

Assistant Producer

Karmen joined the EnergyNet team just weeks before the 20th anniversary of Africa Energy Forum took place so got a real jumpstart introduction to the company. She is working closely with Africa Director Valeria to deliver exciting programs for regional meetings in Eastern and Southern Africa. Karmen holds a MA in African Studies from SOAS, UK, with a focus on politics and East Africa. She did her BA in social and cultural anthropology, speaks Spanish and has studied Kiswahili.

Karmen has spent a considerable time in different African countries, longer periods in Malawi, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. She has witnessed the kind of rapid changes that affordable solar and off-grid power have brought to people in some of the most remote places and is keen to work towards universal access to modern energy.

In her spare time, she loves traveling and wandering off the beaten track with new friends. Karmen takes every chance she gets to be outdoors, either hiking, jogging or camping somewhere off-grid with a good book and a well-selected playlist.

Victor Blanco Diaz

Delegate Sales Coordinator

Having developed his career in customer service and sales, Victor always wanted to live abroad. This made him give up his job as a Real Estate Agent in Barcelona and move to London. He joined EnergyNet in 2019, and he is more than happy to work within an international team of awesome people.

Victor is a Delegate Coordinator for the Latin America portfolio. As a salesman that has seasoned himself in different sectors, he is keen to understand the client’s needs in order to deliver not only the best service, but also fruitful opportunities for their business.

He loves good food (who doesn’t?) and a pint of some crafty beer. As a child he was an avid reader, and he is happy to maintain this practice as an adult. London offers him the chance to meet different people and cultures on a constant basis, which helps him maintain his desire to be always learning.

Abdoulaye Sylla

Delegate Sales Coordinator

My name is Abdoulaye Sylla but everyone calls me Hakeem and I’m from Guinea Conakry in West Africa. I consider myself a panafricain because I have visited and lived in many countries across the continent. I joined Energynet in August 2018 in order to discover the industry of oil and gas. I have Master’s degree in Economics and Finance which I obtained from Oxford Brookes University.

I’m a sportsperson but being 6 foot 6 inadvertently oriented me towards Basketball. I have been playing since I was 16, currently playing for Thames Valley cavaliers - a club based in West London as a Power forward - and have been awarded the trophy of MVP (Most Valuable Player) three times. Through Basketball I discovered many beautiful parts of the UK that I was ignoring or would never had visited, and also discovered the spirit of team work.

Furthermore, during my free time I’m very much into current affairs and I listen to hip hop and reggae music which I picked from my grandparents! My favourite hip hop group is the Wu-Tang Clan.

Thomas Joannou

Business Development Executive

Thomas joined EnergyNet in March 2017 after having found the perfect commute to work living just a 10 minute walk away from the office. He graduated from Manchester focussing on Economics, Politics and Languages giving him an ideal background and keen interest for specialising in emerging markets and understanding global issues.

Being equally English, French, Greek & Czech, Thomas considers himself very European and is well travelled across the world, something which working with EnergyNet will only compliment.

Outside the office, he has an aptitude for sports, mainly playing football, tennis and enjoying a nice cycle, if the weather permits... Otherwise, he is happy to chill with his friends and family, with a beer in hand and the sun shining.

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