Brownlow Utilities - a decade in the energy industry
Amanda Byrne
6th June 2023
The last decade
From our inception 10 years ago, we are proud of our ethical approach to helping businesses of all shapes and sizes -from truly global (UK, U.S. & EU) companies to your local pub or golf course. We wanted to break away from the ‘standard consultancy’ approach and bring choice, empathy, visibility, honesty and most importantly to us and our industry, transparency.
We are pleased to announce that over the past 10 years we have succeeded in all these areas. This has been more evident than ever during the recent energy price crisis on the run up to Christmas 2022. We confidently and successfully helped businesses of all sizes, across all sectors, navigate the myriad of challenges, never shying away from the issue in hand. In addition, during this time we have expanded our portfolio of services to cover water as well as electricity and gas, and more importantly for the future of our planet, sustainability and renewables.
The next decade?
The next decade is all about growth. We have realised that many more companies will need our help and we want to be best placed to support the energy, water and sustainability demands placed on them, whilst continuing to deliver our services in an honest and transparent way.
In response, we have reorganised the board of directors to help us realise this ambition. We now look to the future with the founding chairman, Shaun McClarnon, who is still as passionate as ever for the future of the business, the staff and its clients.
Shaun, former Managing Director of Brownlow Utilities, makes it his duty to have an energy consultancy business that delivers on the principles mentioned above. He ensures that we take the time to understand your business, suggest the appropriate utility solutions and deliver them in a professional, value-driven and honest way. Shaun has been a part of the competitive energy market since its inception in 1990, he brings year’ of expertise, experience and partnerships to Brownlow, creating a solid foundation on which to support both clients and staff in the right way.
Lee McGhie will lead the business through the next decade of growth as Managing Director. Lee has a wealth of experience in expanding and growing a business over the past three decades in the energy and sustainability industry. Initially being accredited by the Carbon Trust as an energy engineer, he set up the sustainability and engineering business for Schneider Electric in Australia, returning to the U.K. in 2015 to help EMEA companies map out their sustainability strategies. Lee grew the sustainability division expanding on services and employees across EMEA and in parallel, project managed a global equity companies’ requirement to report against sustainable ESG targets. Lee was promoted to Global Sustainability Director within Schneider Electric.
Since joining Brownlow Utilities, Lee has grown the overall business and sustainability division within a very short timeframe. He has launched a comprehensive suite of sustainability services that create a roadmap for global business; from understanding their carbon footprint right through to meeting their Net Zero obligations. Lee is also an accredited Lead Assessor for the UK Governments ESOS scheme. Lee has also been instrumental in driving Brownlow’s carbon neutrality and ultimate net zero ambition, ensuring that Brownlow practices what it preaches!
Joining Shaun and Lee is Stephen Kemp as Head of Operations. Steve has a strong academic record with a BA (hons) degree in business/finance followed by an MBA from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) business school. From an energy perspective, Steve brings significant industry knowledge and experience. He joined the senior management team of ENER-G, a Manchester based renewable energy company almost 20 years ago. During that time, he witnessed the business grow significantly whereby it expanded overseas operating in a number of jurisdictions around the world. Steve then moved on to join one of the UK’s largest energy consultancies managing a portfolio which included large public sector clients, blue chips and renewable generators. More recently, Steve headed up B-engineering’s entry into renewables, developing their operational, design and commercial capability, helping them to gain the relevant industry accreditations.
Strengthening the Board from a client perspective, Laurence Stephenson has been appointed to Head of Account Management. Laurence brings a wealth of sustainability, engineering and consultancy knowledge to Brownlow and the Account Management team. Strengthened by renewable energy, CHP and on-site generation experience, Laurence has successfully managed a range of multi-site retail, large manufacturing and blue-chip organisations with their energy and sustainability challenges. With qualifications in Engineering and Business Sustainability Management, Laurence brings a wealth of knowledge, commercial awareness and account management skills to help Brownlow's clients achieve their net zero goals whilst remaining competitive and compliant as far as their energy is concerned.
Finally, Amanda Byrne will be responsible for business development, ensuring that the organisation’s strategy and design are perfectly aligned to the business’s culture, communications and collaborative activities. Amanda has over 30 years of B2B engineering, sales and marketing experience gained across a variety of industries. With a first-class degree in engineering and commerce, and currently studying a CIPD People in Management degree, she effectively understands, manages and communicates the business’s proposition and values whilst keeping a strong focus on the people element, be that employee, client or partner.
