Our people
Our board of directors
Keith Willey
Non-executive Chairman
Keith is an associate professor of strategic and international management and entrepreneurship at London Business School as well as a senior lecturer at University College London. He also holds various non-executive directorships and advisory roles of high growth and more mature companies. In his role as non-executive chairman, he is responsible for the effective operation of the Board, as well as its governance.
Email
[email protected]
Peter Barlow
Non-executive Director
Peter has over 30 years of experience in international financing of infrastructure and energy. Previously, he held the role of Director of Corporate Finance at International Power (now known as Engie Energy International) for over 12 years where he was responsible for fundraisings, bank relationships and treasury activities. Prior to this, he held senior positions with Nomura, Bank of America and HSBC where he was involved in financing acquisitions and greenfield projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors. He is also a non-executive director of InfraCo Africa, a donor-funded infrastructure development company.
Email
[email protected]
Paul Latham
Non-executive Director
Paul was Managing Director of Octopus Investments, where he worked since 2005 until he retired in 2023. Paul has had various general management and internal consulting roles across a number of sectors and brings with him a wealth of industry and business experience, including building key elements of the infrastructure for Capital One Bank (Europe)
Email
[email protected]
Sarah Grant
Director
Sarah has worked at Octopus Investments since 2013, and she has a particular focus on debt raising and relationships with banks and other lenders, which she coordinates across the Octopus Group. She also chairs the Octopus Investments Investment Committee and is a Director of Octopus AIF Management Ltd. Octopus Investments is a key supplier of resource and expertise to Fern.
Sarah’s dual role ensures that the relationship between Octopus and Fern works well and always operates in the best interest of Fern’s shareholders. She has over 25 years’ experience and previously held roles at Société Générale and Rothschild.
Email
[email protected]
Tim Arthur
Non-executive Director
Tim is a chartered accountant with more than 25 years’ international experience as a finance director of both public and private companies. He successfully completed two IPOs on the London Stock Exchange and one major MBO. Initially he worked for Price Waterhouse in Birmingham and Chicago. More recently he was Chief Financial Officer of Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd, a global leader in the funding, development and long-term operation of solar photovoltaic projects. He has also held board positions with ip.access Ltd, INCAT International plc and Abekas Video Systems Ltd.
Email
[email protected]
What does the board do?
As with any company, our experienced Board of Directors is responsible for determining the strategy of our
business, and accounting for our activities to our shareholders.
Our employees
We employ more than 600 full time staff across the businesses that we own and operate. We also indirectly provide employment for hundreds more people via contracts that we have in place.
Find out more about the teams behind our businesses:
Jurassic Fibre
Bringing fibre broadband to underserved communities and regions.
Rangeford Villages
Builds retirement accommodation for sale and operates retirement villages on behalf of its residents.
Swish Fibre
A full-fibre broadband provider, bringing exceptional connectivity services to homes and businesses in the South of England in 2020.
Melton renewable Energy PLC
Owns and operates biomass and landfill gas sites.