Success Stories

Jay Bates

Jay Bates

Service Operations Director - UK

In 1997, Jay Joined the company as the first Apprentice, being trained on Marine Diesel engines.

In 2001, he achieved a full modern apprenticeship in engineering maintenance and was employed full time as part of the Field Service Team.

In 2008, he was offered a role as Technical Supervisor in the North West region. Responsible for 8 Field Service Engineers.

In 2011, his role evolved into an Area Manager position, this was the first step into management.

In 2016, he was promoted to Field Service Operations Manager – U.K. Responsible for the operation of 400+ Gas Engines, 9 Regions, 9 Area Managers and around 80 field service engineers.

In 2017, Jay became the Service Manager – UK: Responsible for the operation of 400+ Gas Engines, 9 Regions, 9 Area Managers, Overhaul & Repair Dept, Cylinder Head Re- manufacture Dept. Responsible for Approximately 120 employees.

In 2019 Jay became the General Manager – Service Operations UK: Responsible for Field Service, Overhaul & Repair Dept, Cylinder Head Re-manufacture Dept. Technical Training Dept, Technical Helpdesk, Service Support and Responsible for Approximately 135 employees.

At the end of 2019, Jay was required to fulfill the position of Service Director. For the next 12 months up until December 2020, he performed to a standard required by Clarke Energy Senior Leadership team and was eventually offered the position full time as Service Operations Director. Jay will now oversee the leadership of our Service Operational Department.

 

Chris Gardner

Chris Gardner

Area Service Manager

In 2005, Chris joined Clarke Energy as an apprentice being trained in the Overhaul and Repair centre where he was completing 60k overhauls both on site and in the workshop.

In 2009, he achieved a Modern Advanced Apprenticeship in Mechanical Manufacturing Engineering & he also completed a HNC qualification.

In 2010, he became a Field Service Engineer.

In 2015, he took on a new role in the Technical Training Department as a Trainer. Chris completed a trainer qualification at Jenbacher and he then became certified to teach Jenbacher accredited courses.

In 2017, he was appointed the Technical Training Manager where is he is responsible for all training in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Tanzania and Nigeria.

In 2021, Chris was appointed as Area Service Manager of the North West region.

Alan Frost

Alan Frost

Service Commercial Director

Prior to joining the company Alan completed an apprenticeship in marine engineering through the Royal Navy reaching the level of Chief Petty Officer before leaving to seek further opportunities in 2008.  

From 2008 to 2011 he worked for Rolls Royce and MAN Diesel and Turbo managing large marine engine overhauls.

In 2011, Alan joined the company as a Project Manager delivering multiple Jenbacher gas engine installation within UK and Africa.

In 2014 he was selected by the Company’s senior management on to the Pathways Programme (talent programme), providing exposure to all parts of the business, allowing him to further develop his skills in engineering, commercial contracts and personnel management.

In 2015 Alan was offered the position of Commercial Operations Manager within the Service Department where, he became responsible for the negotiation and management of our long-term customer maintenance agreements as well as managing a team of performance analysts. As part of the Pathways Programme, with the support of Clarke Energy, Alan enrolled at the University of Manchester in pursuit of a master’s degree in business administration (MBA).

In 2016 he was promoted to the position of Commercial Manager taking on additional responsibilities including the negotiation and management of spare parts agreements, management of key customer accounts, management of key supplier agreements with INNIO Jenbacher and offering his support to other territories within the Clarke Energy Group including Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa)

In 2018 he achieved his goal and graduated from Manchester University with his MBA.

In 2019 Alan was promoted to the position of General Manager – Aftermarket Sales, reporting to the Service Director, taking commercial responsibility for all commercial and sales function for the Clarke Energy UK service business.

As of January 2021, Alan was appointed as our Service Commercial Director for the UK, reporting to the Managing Director UK and Ireland. Within this role he is required to take overall commercial responsibility for the Clarke Energy UK Service Business with an annual turnover of approx. £65m. Managing a team of approx. 45 employees, he is responsible for the successful management and delivery of the following business functions: Aftermarket Sales; Commercial Contract Management; Customer Relationship Management; Financial Management; Parts Supply and Logistics; Project Management and Component Remanufacturing. In addition, with the support of the service commercial team, he continues to provide commercial assistance to other areas of the Clarke Energy Group.

Louise McGowan

Louise McGowan

Mechanical and Piping Designer

Louise joined Clarke Energy in 2018 as a Mechanical and Piping Designer within the engineering department. Not only has Louise excelled in her role, she has also taken part in numerous incentives and activities, which has helped to create a positive impact within the engineering sector and in particular, promoting women in engineering.

Louise attended the careers convention at Archbisop Blanch High School for girls in Liverpool. She went to introduce Clarke Energy to the girls and to raise awareness of the possibility of a career in engineering. Louise discussed numerous roles that are available within the company and also different routes into employment.

In March, Clarke Energy hosted International Womens Day, where girls from local schools was invited to head office. Louise was asked to speak about her own route into engineering and some of experiences along the way. This was a great way for school girls to learn more about the company and for Louise to give a great insight to what opportunities and paths are available.

Louise also attended a Mental Health Awareness Course. This has been very beneficial to Louise as it has provided her with the tools and confidence to be able to assist others.

Throughout school holidays, Clarke Energy accommodates as many work experience
opportunities as possible. Louise has helped massively in making work experience
successful. Louise has volunteered to show people what she does on a daily basis with
explaining how varied her role can be. She has also demonstrated the software that Clarke Energy uses to model designs and Louise has allowed them to have a go themselves.

Louise has also provided department overviews to recent apprentices that have joined the company. She has found this really useful as it helps provide them with the understanding of the department and she also gets to meet new faces.

Kirsty Leatherbarrow

Kirsty Leatherbarrow

Health Safety and Environmental Manager for the UK and Ireland

Kirsty joined Clarke Energy in 2021 as a QUENSH Officer within the QUENSH Department has been successful in various projects and her career development.

In March 2023, Kirsty was successful in becoming the Health Safety and Environmental Manager for the UK and Ireland.
Kirsty has also reached the ‘gold standard’ within the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) by becoming the 44th female to reach chartered status. This was an intense interview process covering background experience, qualifications, progression history, challenges, numerous areas of health and safety knowledge and demonstrating implementation and testing knowledge on the IOSH Code of Conduct. Through this Kirsty has now reached level 7 which is equivalent to an Integrated Master’s degree level.

In June 2023, Kirsty played a key role in organising Clarke Energy UK’s Safety Week. Some of the activities included an AED/CPR session, Hazard Hunt, Awareness of our highest causes of accidents, Site wide poster campaign and factsheets, PPE workshop and a HR health and wellness campaign. The week was finished with a ‘Beach Clean’ at Leasowe Bay where our employees removed 12kg of rubbish.

Kelechi Amadi

Kelechi Amadi

Sales Engineer – Clarke Energy Nigeria

I joined Clarke Energy Nigeria, as a Sale Engineer (Intern) in 2021. The induction process was experiential for me. It gave me a detailed culture of the business. Over the past two years, I have grown from a Trainee Sales Engineer to a Sales Engineer covering the Southeastern region of Nigeria. This has been a continuous improvement and learning process for me. The business inculcated in me the spirit of teamwork and an attitude toward high performance with high value for a work-life balance. The business presents many opportunities, even for the future workforce, and I am committed to remain relevant to its growth.

Prosperous Prosper-Efe

Prosperous Prosper-Efe

Junior Service Technician – Clarke Energy Nigeria

After my Higher National Diploma in Electrical Engineering, I joined Clarke Energy Nigeria in 2019 as an Engineering Trainee, a year transformative journey that has enriched my knowledge and fired up my passion for clean energy solutions.

As a Trainee, I had the privilege of working closely with experienced engineers, enabling me to gain comprehensive insights into the core operations and intricacies of the energy sector. The program has instilled in me a strong sense of professionalism, teamwork, and attention to detail, attributes that I believe are crucial for achieving excellence in the field. Because of the company’s commitment to driving a culture of continuous development, I was enrolled for several certifications that have equipped me further as an Electrical Engineer. The journey so far has been interesting, and I can only look forward to building a great career with Clarke Energy.

Olivia Iacobescu

Olivia Iacobescu

Service Director – Clarke Energy Romania

After graduating from the University, I decided to find a job with focus on the area of my background studies. One of my professors at the University recommended me the company Clarke Energy Romania, Total Energy Business at that time, for a job and after doing a little research about the main business, I decided to go for the interview. I then had two interviews with the General Manager, that went very well, and I was hired as a service support engineer, which was basically back-office help for the field service team. On my first day at the job, I was on a site observing a 2000 operating hours maintenance on a J620, this being my first exposure to this type of engine. I was very impressed by this kind of equipment and decided to continue to understand them better. From that moment it became a challenge to work in a company that sells and maintains such engines. These engines were at that time something new and very interesting from a technological point of view on the Romanian market. I learned everything that I know by working in Clarke Energy. I have learned about selling parts, maintenance, upgrades for engines, invoicing and contracts. Every day something new had come up and I never stop learning new things. In Clarke Energy I had also the great opportunity to work with a wonderful team from whom I learn something new every day and I can always count on their support, starting with our actual Managing Director who unconditionally stood by me and helped me develop. It took a lot of hard work, commitment, proactivity, professionalism, loyalty, teamwork and most importantly management support to get to where I am today. I thank to all those who have been by my side all these years and who have helped me become the person I am today.

Lizanne Howarth

Lizanne Howarth

Accountant, South Africa

I joined Clarke Energy as an accountant for the South Africa Business in August 2019. With little experience in the energy sector, Clarke Energy exposed me to the core functions of engineering and Finance.

In 2021, the South African team took over the operations of the Tanzania Business, which expanded my expertise. Providing support for the new territory increased my knowledge of tax and finance laws outside of South Africa.

In addition to the opportunities, Clarke has also allowed me to work with diverse people from different backgrounds and cultures and through this, I have grown not just on a professional level, but on a personal level as well. I am very grateful for these opportunities that have impacted my career positively.

Tom and Shaun have both completed Work Experience Placements with Clarke Energy and have been successful in securing full-time employment!

Shaun Salinas

Project Engineer Apprentice

Tom Mercer

Proposals Engineer

Interested in working for Clarke Energy?

Click the button below to view all our current vacaniesÂ