Following research work in fibre optics at the ABB Corporate Research Centre (Switzerland) and at the University of Essex (UK), Etienne ROCHAT joined OMNISENS (Switzerland) in 2004, first as a product manager, then as R&D manager (2009), and finally as CTO (2013).

He is in charge of product research & development for the company monitoring solution, focusing on optical interrogators, sensing cables and novel applications.

The corresponding products are now deployed worldwide for pipeline and power cable monitoring. In 2022 Etienne became CTO of EOSS, the Prysmian business unit dedicated to sensing.

Jakub is active in Service Product Management at NKT. In his role, Jakub is responsible for the product portfolio of NKT's Service Business Line covering both the offshore and onshore power cable segments. His primary focus is leveraging NKT's extensive HV cable experience to identify solutions for cable owners' and cable operators' needs as well as leading implementation teams to develop these solutions into products. Prior to transitioning to the Service Business Line, Jakub was a member of NKT's in-house Strategy Department where he supported numerous projects across the company's Business Lines, most notably shaping the Service Business Line's strategy. Before joining NKT, Jakub worked as a Management Consultant in Bain & Company's Brussels office and obtained a Master of Science degree in Energy Engineering from the KU Leuven and Grenoble INP.

Chas is Operations Director at Peritus International, a specialist subsea engineering consultancy. He has experience with a wide range of subsea cable projects covering both offshore wind and oil and gas. He is also experienced in subsea pipeline design, having been involved in the design of some of the world’s deepest pipelines at over 3000m.  He holds a Ph.D in Materials Science and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Fellow of the institute of Marine Engineers.

In his role as Director - Energy Transition, in the Global Specialty Energy division of Sedgwick International, Andrew is responsible for their loss adjusting activities across all forms of renewable energy including offshore wind and submarine power cables. Andrew is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Insurance Practitioner with 30 years’ experience in loss adjusting, underwriting, claims management and risk surveying. A founder and former chairman of the European Wind Turbine Committee, he also chaired the Oil, Petrochemical and Energy Risks Association (OPERA) and is a member of the Offshore Engineering Society. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and holds an Advanced Diploma in Insurance. Andrew moved to the insurance sector in 1996, and since 2000, has been managing a global portfolio of claims in the energy, mining and power sectors. His wide-ranging experience includes time with a Lloyd’s syndicate and a large reinsurance company where he established a reputation as one of the market’s leading underwriters of offshore wind and submarine cable risks.

Colin McKinnon is the Wood Technical Director for Specialist Engineering and Consultancy based in the UK.

He has over forty years’ experience in the planning, building and operation of Marine and Subsea Systems in hostile environments.

He has been involved in the development and application of many new technologies and is currently leading a series of multi discipline R&D projects addressing floating wind. 

He is a keen yachtsman and skier.

Rene started his career in 1981 within the dredging division of HAM Dredging. After having spent several years on dredging projects worldwide, he joined the offshore division of the company. At that time the main offshore activities were the preparation of the rights-of-way, consisting mainly of the pre-sweeping, along the pipeline and cable routes.

In 1992, Rene joined Van Oord, one of the major dredging and marine contractors worldwide. Within the Offshore division Rene became responsible for all cable related activities which initially consisted of subsea rock installation for protection purposes and later evolved into the cable installation and burial services towards the telecom and later on the offshore wind industry. In his role, Rene has been responsible for the development of the cable installation and burial activities and several EPC contracts for offshore wind farms and thereby being instrumental in the present position of Van Oord in the cable installation markets.

In 2020, after almost 40 years in the dredging and offshore (wind) industry, Rene has left Van Oord and started his own consultancy (CableAbility) with the aim to use his extensive experience and knowledge within the submarine cable industries

Richard Booth is an experienced construction lawyer with a particular interest and specialism in renewables, including offshore wind.  He regularly advises on procurement strategy and all forms of construction documentation, particularly high value complex EPC contracts. Richard regularly acts in an advisory capacity on offshore wind projects and is an experienced strategist and dispute resolver. The directories say "he is a very persuasive negotiator", "excellent at tackling the issues while bearing in mind practical and commercially sensible solutions" and "his strengths are his ability to find solutions in negotiations and to get a deal done.

John has been an Engineer within the Subsea, ROV industry for over 30 years. Initially working with the UK and overseas navies on remote control mine countermeasure ROVs and then for the past 20 years on the ROVs, Ploughs and trenchers used to support offshore oil and gas, submarine telecom and power cable installation. John has had a diverse career from working offshore, through to operations management, business development and now as director of trenching and business development for Helix Robotics Solutions. As Director Trenching & Business Development, John is responsible for working with the senior management team to support the business’s strategy in taking its assets and services; supporting all things energy. John is responsible for building relationships with current clients and strategic partners primarily in the North Sea and EMEA region - although his remit, just like the company’s equipment and services - extends worldwide. John’s expertise in the renewables sector and the trenching market merges with the core strength of Helix Robotics Solutions, which is providing services (ROV, Trenching, UXO ID, boulder clearance, construction support and vessels) in shallow to deep water marine contracting operations, and allows him to advise global energy, renewables and telecom players on the most cost-effective solution for their project needs

Jonathan is an experienced Energy Advisory leader within Arup’s UK Advisory Services Midlands team. Jonathan has significant experience managing complex, multidisciplinary energy projects, in particular working on interconnector projects for over 8 years.

The breadth of Jonathan’s experience includes working for developers, investors and regulatory bodies across Europe and globally.

Jonathan’s recent experience includes leading the procurement exercise for NeuConnect interconnector project and subsequently transitioning into his current role of Employer’s Representative across all contracts, leading the joint venture organisation on behalf of the client.

Additionally, Jonathan leads Arup’s Interconnector forum, drawing together global experts in HVDC projects, with experience throughout project lifecycles, to deliver excellence for our clients.

Tim is the Director for Linear Assets and New Energies at The Crown Estate, with responsibilities for offshore power transmission networks prominent within his portfolio. His motivation is to help society plan and act to deliver Net Zero, a stronger natural environment, and thriving communities that live along our coasts. He is a Naval Architect by training, and started his career in the Royal Navy, where he now realises he had a valuable apprenticeship in the design and operation of safety and mission critical, multi-vector, islanded and complex power and energy systems. The UK in microcosm. In 2009, Tim was awarded a Panasonic Trust Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Engineering. Taking the opportunity to study a Masters in Sustainable Energy Systems at Edinburgh University, focussing his studies on marine renewables and power systems architecture. Tim was the Managing Director of Ocean Power Technologies in the UK and Europe, a leading wave energy technology developer. And later was a member of the interim executive team that established the Energy Systems Catapult - which helps him bring a ‚system wide‘ perspective to challenge of building an offshore energy system to help the UK reach Net Zero. Tim joined The Crown Estate in 2020. prior to taking up his current role, he led the design of TCE’s Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5 to bring up to 4.5GW of Floating Wind to the Celtic Sea.

Lars-André Tobaben is the project manager at Sea Impact. He holds a M.Sc. in geography & geoinformatics from the University of Copenhagen.

Applying his specialized knowledge of spatial data, he has played a key part in the development of Sea Impact’s innovative offshore wind market intelligence offering.

Doing so he has achieved extensive insight into the offshore wind vessel market, the offshore installation phase and the operation and maintenance of offshore wind.

He has been part of Sea Impact‘s full mapping of the offshore installation gathering deep knowledge on the installation of foundations, turbines, cables and substations.

Senior Manager and Civil Engineer with strong interest in Energy Transition and (New) Technology.

Passion for Offshore Wind and (Subsea) Cables. Extensive global track record in Dredging, Trenchless Technology (HDD), Electricity Cables, (Outfall) Pipelines and Marine Construction.

Involved since 2007 in an operational and commercial director role for the very early offshore wind cabling projects in Europe with companies like VSMC, VBMS and Boskalis Subsea Cables.

During these years VBMS became the market leader in Subsea Cable Installation in the Renewable Industry as well as the go-to contractor for Cable Repairs.

Since 2022 as Business Line Director responsible for the business line Subsea Cables within N-Sea and with a dedicated team focusing on Subsea Cable repairs and installation.

N-Sea is managing a number of large long term Service Level Agreements to repair and maintain subsea cable assets from TSO's and other asset owners and as such is growing its fleet of vessels, equipment and most important personnel.

In 2024, N-Sea launched the CURO, the first dedicated permanently mobilized shallow draft DP2 subsea cable repair vessel with a deck spread that is suitable for inter-array, export & interconnector cables (both HVAC and HVDC).

The CURO has been extremely busy for the first 1.5 years which has resulted in the investment in a second vessel the Altera which is scheduled to enter service by the end of Q2 2026.

Anna Farley is the Director of Interconnectors at Collaborative Environmental Advisers (CEA) Ltd. She has 18 years’ marine environmental consultancy experience specialising in Environmental Impact Assessment, Habitats Regulations Assessment and stakeholder management for UK and Irish infrastructure projects. Her experience covers all aspects of the project lifecycle from site investigation and cable routeing, through to marine survey, pre-installation planning applications and licences, and management of environmental commitments during construction and operations.  Over the last ten years she has focused on cable projects, working across power cables and telecoms, securing the marine consents for the Greenlink, GridLink and FAB Link interconnector projects and providing technical expertise into Viking Link, North Sea Link and telecommunication cable projects such as Havhingsten, SCOT-NI, and the Scotland Reaching 100 project.  She is currently supporting the development of two UK multi-purpose interconnector projects and two submarine grid reinforcement cable projects.

Energy infrastructure leader with 20+ years’ experience developing major electricity transmission and renewable energy projects across the UK, Europe, and global markets. Skilled in developing HVDC interconnectors, grid infrastructure, and renewable systems including offshore wind, solar, and battery storage, from concept and feasibility through to investment decision and delivery.

Combines deep technical expertise with strong commercial and strategic capability. Proven in structuring complex programmes, creating investor‑ready opportunities, and leading multidisciplinary teams across engineering, finance, legal, and regulatory functions. Experienced in planning, regulatory engagement, and partnering with investors, governments, TSOs, and global supply chains.

Recognised for building new energy ventures, turning around challenging projects, and developing scalable pipelines aligned with the energy transition. Brings strong JV structuring, investment case development, financial modelling, and risk/value optimisation skills. Passionate about enabling next‑generation energy infrastructure and open to strategic advisory and collaboration opportunities.

Kevin is a Director within the Arup Energy Advisory business and is currently leading the Operational Readiness workstream within the NeuConnect project. His background is in leading large operational, commercial and specialist teams delivering energy infrastructure projects. More specifically, Kevin has led the development of National Grid’s portfolio of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects. More recently he acted as the Operations Director for BritNed, re-shaping and influencing operational, commercial and regulatory activities within this JV to maximise long term value of shareholder investment. As a Project Director for National Grid Ventures he had portfolio responsibility for early stage development of HVDC Interconnectors and Hydrogen Business Development opportunities.

Bethany White (she/her) is an Associate working in the Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Team. At the Carbon Trust, she focuses on the set-up and management of large-scale joint-industry projects, including the High Voltage Array Systems project, Load Reduction Devices for Offshore Wind and Prevalence of Seabird Species and Collision Events in Offshore Wind Farms, along with management of the Cables working group. Bethany has over eight years’ experience in the energy industry, with a particular background in renewable energy (including offshore wind), policy, retail markets and project management. Bethany holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Birmingham.  

Karolina Zieba (she/her) works to accelerate the transition to a decarbonized energy future, specializing in the field of submarine power cables. Currently working with the Carbon Trust, Karolina collaborates on the cables technical workstream, overseeing the successful delivery of research and development projects aimed at mitigating risks associated with offshore wind cables. With a strong educational background in both chemistry and climate change, Karolina obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Edinburgh and a master's degree from King's College London. Prior to her work with the Carbon Trust, she gained valuable experience as part of the policy and research team at Mainstream Renewable Power, a leading offshore wind developer. Karolina's expertise lies in providing project management, advisory and strategic insights, contributing to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions. Her dedication to the industry drives her to facilitate the adoption of optimized cable technologies and promote practical solutions for the challenges faced in submarine power cable fault, installation, interconnections, design, and technology

Providing survey support for oilfield engineering activities as part of the Survey Group. Responsibilities: Drafting of marine survey specifications and scopes of work, guiding clients through the Invitation To Tender process,

William Stephenson is a co-founder of Enshore Subsea specialising in mid-sized EPCI submarine cable projects. After training as a mechanical engineer William spent his early career in the build of specialised offshore and subsea equipment to support offshore installation works specialising in Subsea Vehicles and Cable Lay Equipment. Following a stint in heavy offshore logistics and marshalling, William entered the cable installation and trenching world with Enshore. William’s knowledge centre is around complex shallow water cable installation and trenching technology with a bias towards hard ground cutting

Jonathan Wheatley has been involved in Offshore Wind since the early round projects in the UK. He has worked for the main large installation firms including Boskalis and more recently 7 years at DEME Offshore. He was the negotiation lead for the Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm, project sponsor for Hornsea One export, and was part of the development team of the UK – Germany Interconnector, NeuConnect. Now the Senior Risk Consultant at Primo Risk & Control. He advises insurers and lenders on construction and operational risks as well as dealing with complex subsea cable claims.

Henrik Bang-Andreasen is a distinguished expert in offshore cable protection systems and marine technology with over 40 years of industry experience.

As the founder of Portunus Solutions Ltd and an independent consultant, he specializes in CPS and cable stabilization for offshore foundations.

His entrepreneurial journey includes founding Seaproof Solutions, where he served as Managing Director for over 30 years and developed numerous innovative cable protection solutions and patents.

Prior to his current ventures, Henrik built and managed the Norwegian division of MacArtney Underwater Technology Group, serving military, research, and ROV sectors.

His background includes significant experience with remotely operated vehicles and underwater services at Svitzer Surveys, complemented by his military service in the Royal Danish Navy (Søværnet).

 Throughout his career, Henrik has been at the forefront of marine operations, equipment installation, and business development in the underwater technology sector.

His extensive expertise in cable installation and protection systems has made him a respected figure in the offshore energy industry.

Simon Ludlam is an experienced energy professional, currently CEO at MaresConnect, a 750MW interconnector project linking GB and Ireland. He has originated and led several interconnector projects in northwest Europe, including the €500 million Greenlink interconnector and the €800 million ElecLink project. Simon is the founder of Etchea Energy, a developer of energy projects supporting the green transition. He previously worked in investment banking and private equity.

Rebecca is passionate about people, decarbonisation, energy and infrastructure.

Rebecca started her energy journey at E.ON working in energy trading, portfolio strategy and subsequently in international roles on strategic business transformation projects.

Joining EDF in 2011, she went on to lead the B2B business, delivering notable growth in emerging market areas, such renewable PPAs and in 2020, stepping up as UK Director of Policy and Strategy, representing Retail, Nuclear and Renewables.

In 2022, Rebecca joined the NGV Interconnectors business as Commercial, Customer and Regulation Director, responsible for strategy, policy, regulation and commercial optimisation of the interconnectors. In 2023, Rebecca became Managing Director of the end-to-end interconnectors business.

Rebecca sits on the UK ESO Markets Council, is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a Founder of the Women’s Utility Network (WUN), which has over 4400 members. Having three young children, she spends her free time cooking, travelling and endlessly tidying up toys.

Michael joined the RiskPoint Group in 2023. He has worked as a Senior Underwriter for Codan Forsikring focusing on Offshore Wind before joining us. As part of his role, he also took a role in in insuring both (HVDC and AC only) Grid Connections Systems as well as Interconnectors.
Michael holds a degree in Business Administration and brings broad expertise in Engineering Insurances from previous job roles, most of them with a particular focus on Renewable Energy.

Roger is an experienced scientific professional with over 30 years expertise in acoustics, optical sensing and signal processing. For most of the last 20 years he has been involved with fibre optic systems to measure a range of parameters including strain, acoustics, pressure, temperature, magnetics and acceleration. His current role is looking at means to improve the performance and capabilities of the LUNA distributed sensing systems, which includes developments in the hardware itself and how the data from them can be utilised. Has produced 15 peer reviewed publications and has 20 granted patents on optical sensing.

Ricky Saez, is a Programme Director with SSE Transmission, and Project Director on Eastern Green Link 2 a Joint Venture between SSEN and National Grid, he is accountable for the safe, timely and cost effective delivery of the Eastern Green Link (EGL) Projects EGL 2 and EGL 3 with his JV Partner National Grid Transmission. He has previous offshore renewables experience with Scottish Power Renewables primarily focusing on offshore substations. Prior to joining the renewables sector Ricky has 20+ years of experience in Oil and Gas Mega Project delivery, which he is leveraging from to develop cross industry learning and sharing of best practices necessary to undertake the projects and initiatives that address the pursuit of Net Zero.

Arnaud Grévoz is the CEO of NeuConnect - one of the world’s largest interconnectors that will create the first direct link between the UK and Germany, connecting two of Europe’s largest energy markets for the first time. Arnaud was appointed CEO of NeuConnect in 2022, helping to lead the €2.8bn project to Financial Close in July 2022 and into the start of major construction work in 2023 - NeuConnect will be one of the very first interconnectors to be delivered using Project Finance, with the project making good progress and on track to be completed in 2028. Mr Grévoz joined NeuConnect after having spent his career first in the nuclear industry, then in the management of major civil works projects, bringing extensive experience in both the energy and the maritime sectors.

Senior Executive at TGS-4COffshore, through TGS acquisition of 4CO, supporting the objectives of high level consultancy due diligence commissions for HVDC subsea developments - specifically risk mitigation due diligence to support client investment objectives covering capital investment in subsea Interconnectors. TGS is a global leader in offshore market intelligence and geophysical data analysis utilising DMaaS and MDIO systems. An extensive career covering over 3 decades, bring a deep understanding of the practical workings of the Offshore Pipeline and Submarine Cable Industry to support Developers, Contractors, Government, Investors & Insurers This career includes. CEO of leading UK Diving & Subsea Engineering Company, included development of a range of subsea cable bury tools, affecting risk reduction and stabilisation of operational submarine cables and pipelines. SVP of Oceanteam Norway, next generation new build DP3 OSV program, coupled with subsea tooling development supporting International Oil / Gas, & Interconnector development. CEO Risk Panel Limited - advisors to Underwriters for coverage and claim mitigation supported through Swiss Re & EY Renewables. AODC (Association Offshore Divers Contractor‘s Certification - commercial ) Part 1, NELP Hydrographic & Geophysical Survey accreditation: Qualified MCA YachtMaster Offshore for commercial vessel operations.

Rob is a partner in the Infrastructure and Project Finance Group based in the London office. Rob has worked with CMS throughout his 20+ years of experience in energy and infrastructure projects. He has extensive experience advising sponsors, funders, sub-contractors and authorities in central and eastern Europe, the UK and internationally and has recently advised in relation to a number of HVDC cable projects.

Willem is a Partner and Energy lead for Gardiner & Theobald, a professionally independent construction and property consultancy. As a chartered commercial professional, Willem has supported clients to develop and deliver energy infrastructure projects in the UK and Europe for the last 12 years. In his earlier career in the British Army, Willem was deployed throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In his current capacity, Willem focuses on strategic risk profile management to enable clients to realise their project or portfolio business case in both a regulated and privately financed environment.

Ian brings extensive experience in the energy sector, having spent the first eight years of his career in London as an Upstream broker with Willis and Marsh, managing an international portfolio of clients within the Upstream sector. In 2014, he transitioned to Singapore, where he shifted to underwriting, overseeing a portfolio of clients across the Asia Pacific region. In 2020, Ian returned to London and re-entered the broking industry, joining Gallagher‘s Energy division as Head of UK Retail, where he now focuses on Cable and Interconnector clients. His expertise and global perspective make him a leading voice in the industry

Axel is leading the Service & Installation Business Line of NKT - the unit responsible for all of NKT‘s cable jointers deployed on service or installation projects as well as for all other cable services provided by NKT both on- and off-shore. In his role, one of Axel‘s primary objectives is ensuring that NKT continues to provide world-leading services for submarine cables owned and operated by its customers in this rapidly changing and growing industry. Prior to joining NKT in 2020, he has been a Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company and held various leadership positions at ABB. Axel holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering Physics from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

A crucial part of today’s energy transition from conventional power generation to renewable energy, and connecting remote power sources to end customers gives an increasing risk exposure to subsea cable developers, owners and contractors. Thomas plays a key role in providing global subsea cable stakeholders a holistic picture of the insurance environment, giving guidance on how risk transfer can be utilised with project risk management. As a Sub Sea Cable specialist at WTW (and enthusiast) Thomas focusses on the management and broking of major projects for developers, owners and contractors, including the provision of risk management, risk finance consultancy, and the design of complex Construction, Operational Property and Casualty programmes. During the last 12 months, Thomas has been responsible for the insurance placements attributing to over USD 125m in insurance premium on over USD 5bn of asset value on behalf of major contractors and developers.

Having completed a Marine Geoscience BSc and Applied Marine Geoscience MSc, Chris joined the subsea industry in 2019
as a Geophysicist. Working with cutting edge geophysical sensors, he has supported numerous marine surveys ranging from site investigation, UXO and post-construction cable inspections. Joining Kraken Robotics in 2021, he specialised in the acquisition of sub-seabed 3D acoustic data to aid in the installation and operations of cables. Chris now works in the commercial department as Business Development Lead, supporting clients with survey design and execution.

Mr. De Wild is business director and senior principal consultant on power cables for the independent energy expert and assurance provider, DNV.

He is an internationally recognized expert on underground and submarine power cable systems having over 25 years of experience.

Mr. De Wild‘s expertise covers all life phases of power cable systems ranging up to the highest voltage levels and transmission capacities.

His expertise includes HVAC and HVDC cable technology, interconnectors, cables to wind farms, dynamic rating systems, and overall risk management and quality control.

He has worked with numerous companies worldwide. Mr. De Wild has played a key role in various projects, including cable system verification projects, feasibility and design studies, expert witness activities, verification of manufacturing lines, and a joint industry project on cable lifetime monitoring.

Apart from his work in DNV, Mr. De Wild is also strongly involved in CIGRE B1 as a workgroup member and convenor of various activities. Mr. De Wild has an M.Sc. in Applied Physics from the University of Twente in The Netherlands.

Joel Ferreira is a seasoned subsea and offshore engineering professional with over 25 years of experience in leading innovation in the energy sector. With a Master’s degree from University College London and Chartered Engineer status, he has successfully managed projects spanning subsea cables, offshore construction, energy equipment design & manufacture, and digital technologies, at companies such as GE and Subsea 7.

Joel’s entrepreneurial drive has seen him lead within Fortune 200 corporations and disruptive start-ups alike, pushing for growth through strategic partnerships and cutting-edge solutions.

A holder of several patents, he remains dedicated to revolutionising the energy and insurance sectors through technology-driven advancements. As founder and CEO of Horizon Bridge, Joel leads a highly experienced team of specialists, who are passionate about delivering better offshore cable integrity and insurability outcomes