Steve McRae, CEO

Steve has 25 years of operational business experience in both the IT, data communications and energy industries. He spent many years in the USA working in the technology and communications industries including six years as CEO of Netlink Inc., a successful data communications company. After Steve returned to Australia he ran Energex Retail which at the time was one of Australia’s largest power retailers. During his time with Energex, Steve was responsible for their move into the national market, the integration of both natural gas and LPG into the company's product offering through acquisition and alliance and the introduction of value-added service offerings.

Prior to the formation of Ingenero, Steve spent a number of years heavily involved in the solar industry as CEO of XeroCoat, a materials science company that integrates its technology into traditional and emerging solar module technologies.

Steve has also been the founding CEO of a number of early-stage technology companies in the areas of semiconductors and a “software as a service” offering delivering IT applications across the web. Two of these companies have completed successful moves offshore and are now based in Silicon Valley, California.

Rodger Whitby, General Manager Generation

Rodger has 25 years' hands-on management experience in energy and commodity trading. Early in his career he helped pioneer crude oil exports from Australia, including an extensive hedging program using WTI futures contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Rodger spent seven years in Singapore where he held various management positions within BHP, including General Manager of BHP Countertrade and Managing Director of BHP Petroleum South East Asia.

Rodger returned to Australia as General Manager Energy Trading for Energex Retail where he was responsible for wholesale trading of electricity, gas, and renewable energy. His team established Energex Retail’s wholesale trading capabilities at the start of the National Electricity Market and implemented Energex’s operational capability around Australia including the Victorian gas market. Rodger was also responsible for developing the pricing models for retail energy products at Energex.

Rodger also has extensive experience in consulting to the Australian energy industry where he has negotiated Power Purchase Agreements, price reviews, long-term gas supply contracts, tolling agreements for gas-fired power stations, helped to prepare power station projects for financial close and undertaken a broad range of other energy-related activities.

Andrew Pearce, General Manager Operations

Andrew joined Ingenero in August 2008 as General Manager for Operations, and is responsible for the overall performance of the renewable power sources owned and operated by Ingenero. With over 20 years experience in operations, network design and delivery, project management, supply management and billing, Andrew manages a broad portfolio, drawing on his significant knowledge of establishing and managing large scale networks across diverse geographies.

Before joining Ingenero, Andrew held various senior management roles within the telecommunications industry. His most recent roles were with AAPT where he was accountable for design, implementation and product delivery functions within the company including billing.
Prior to AAPT, Andrew was the Director of Operations at Telewest Broadband (now Virgin Media). Within this role, Andrew was responsible for the design and implementation of the largest fibre/IP network in Europe, worth over £300m and covering 2500km across the UK.

Steve Lane, General Manager – Corporate Development

Joining Ingenero in 2008 as General Manager for Corporate Development, Steve brings extensive senior management knowledge to the company. He has strong leadership and management skills with a detailed understanding of the solar industry and power sector in general.

He has been a part of many new business ventures including being a senior partner in one of Australia’s largest venture capital fund management firms, CM Capital, as well as founder and Managing Director of Lane Telecommunications. Under Steve's leadership, this company grew to become one of Australia’s largest telecommunication consulting engineering practices before he sold it in 1995 to Pacific Star, a Telecom NZ/ Bell Atlantic Joint Venture. Steve understands how to raise capital for growth and has an extensive network in Australia’s institutional investor market. He is also very experienced in developing business strategies to grow corporate value at an accelerated rate across a broad range of industries and understands how to expand businesses in very competitive markets.

In addition, Steve has strong financial management skills and has been successful in structuring, selling, negotiating and delivering large complex deals covering outsourcing, application development, consulting services and facilities management.

Dr Hugh Butler, Manager – Business Systems

Hugh is responsible for residential sales and business systems throughout Ingenero. Hugh trained as an agriculture scientist in the 70s but has spent the last 20 years introducing and commercialising new technology; working with inventors and investors. He is an experienced senior executive and has created successful new businesses and grown small businesses to large. His experience in retail sales led to a passion for customer service, a trait he put to work in SolarPay, co-founding the company in 2008 with Alexander Kohl.

Keith Miller, Product Marketing Manager

Keith joined Ingenero late in 2009 and is responsible for Ingenero's marketing organisation. He has over 25 years’ experience across Australia, Asia Pacific and North America in the promotion and sales of networking, telecommunications and IT products and services for brand icons such as IBM, Microsoft, Lucent Technologies and Red Hat to name a few. Keith has been involved in several successful start-ups in the Asia Pacific, including Chipcom, FORE Systems, and Vitalsoft and so is well-versed with nurturing rapidly growing young organisations.

Advisory Board

Dr Richard Harris

Richard started his career engineering high reliability remote infrastructure for the aviation and maritime industry. Notable projects included the re-engineering of Australia’s coastal wide safety-of-life radio communications infrastructure and engineering Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef maritime vessel information system. Considerable portions of Richard’s experience involved the engineering of environmentally compatible power systems, including solar power installations on remote islands in the Great Barrier Reef.

Richard founded Fultec Pty Ltd; a data communications-focused semiconductor company in 2001. He took this company to the USA in 2004 and established it as an international semiconductor company servicing the telecommunications industry.

Richard’s experience includes the formation and oversight of multidisciplinary teams (civil, electrical and Information technology engineering) for the design, construction, commissioning and maintenance of infrastructure. It also includes the formation and management of the research, product engineering, supply chain and operations functions for Fultec in California’s Silicon Valley.

Richard has a degree and a PhD in electrical engineering and a growing portfolio of international patents.

David Barbagallo

David has a background in surveying and town planning, ICT and government. He spent time as a key member of the Queensland Government as an advisor on infrastructure and ICT policy to the then Premier Wayne Goss. For eight years David was CEO of a Cooperative Research Centre that focused on software infrastructure before being appointed as Executive Vice President, Solutions at Mincom Ltd.

David is currently a board member of a number of early-stage IT companies assisting with strategy development and execution. David also consults to the IT industry, focusing on performance improvement. In 2006 David was appointed chairman of the Queensland Minister for State Development's Ministerial Advisory Council on ICT. In 2007 he was appointed chairman of the Australian Institute of Commercialisation and was made an Adjunct Professor of Information Technology at the Queensland University of Technology.

David has an undergraduate degree in Surveying and a Masters of Technology Management . He has completed a number Management courses at Stanford Business School, with a special focus on growing small companies.

In 2003 David was awarded the inaugural Queensland Pearcey Award for his contribution to the state’s ICT industry.

Dr Michael Harvey

Michael has a long and successful track record in the renewable energy and electricity industries in both Australian and overseas markets. After working in the energy sector since 1996, Michael began with Queensland electricity generator CS Energy, dealing with the wholesale electricity market and regulatory issues.

Displaying an avid interest in solar generation, Michael’s focus since 2002 has been on technologies and policy formation for the increased penetration of solar energy and other renewable sources worldwide.

In 2004 Michael co-invented a unique technology for the solar industry and was instrumental in founding XeroCoat Inc in California. He remains the Chief Technology Officer of the company.

Michael holds an Honors degree in Physics (Laser Science) and a PhD in Physics (Optical Materials) from the University of Queensland, Australia.