Management team
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 6 years as CEO of Netlink Inc., a successful data communications company. After Steve returned to Australia he ran ENERGEX Retail one of Australia’s largest power retailers.
Steve has also been the founding CEO of a number of early stage technology companies in the areas of semiconductors, materials science focused on the solar marketplace and a “software as a service” offering delivering IT applications across the web. Two of these companies have completed successful moves offshore and have now centred in Silicon Valley, California.
Rodger Whitby
General Manager Sustainability
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 7 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 undertook a broad range of other energy related activities.
Andrew Pearce
General Manager Operations
Andrew joined Ingenero in August 2008 as General Manager, Operations. With significant successes in project management and in the telecommunications industry, Andrew has the overall responsibility for design, implementation and operation of the renewable power sources owned and operated by Ingenero.
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.
Andrew has over 20 years experience in operations, network design and delivery, project management, and vendor management.
Advisory Board
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. Richard 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 multidiscipline 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 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. David was CEO of a Co-operative Research Centre that focused on software infrastructure for 8 years 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 the Chairman of the Queensland Minister for State Development's Ministerial Advisory Council on ICT. In 2007 he was appointed both 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 industry and the electricity industry in both Australian and Overseas markets. Having worked 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 and remains the Chief Technology Officer of the company.
Michael holds an Honors degree in Physics (Laser Science) and a Ph.D in Physics (Optical Materials) from the University of Queensland, Australia.