About Zest

Robin’s most recent experience in the electric vehicle charging sector includes establishing the presence of ENGIE in the UK, who now own and operate the ENGIE and GeniePoint nationwide EV charging networks. He has specialised in new business start-up and expansion for the past ten years, in the Finance, Automotive and Energy sectors. Robin originally trained in Physics before gaining diverse experience with household names including Rolls-Royce, Orange and British Gas / Centrica.

Ben is a member of the ACCA and has previous experience in the EV sector, having previously worked as Finance Business Partner at Engie EV Solutions. Supporting the business through the integration of Charge Point Services, budgeting and forecasting, leading the monthly reporting and the company’s first statutory audit. Prior to this role, Ben held financial reporting positions in the Home Energy and Property Management sectors, in both multi-national and SME organisations.

Paul is passionate about creating an equitable society and avoiding a two tier system for EV adoption. Most recently he specialised in developing integrated solutions for EQUANS and Amey. Working at director level for global advisory practices Aecom and Gardiner & Theobald, Paul supported local and central government to manage strategic procurements and develop workplace solutions. He has a background in estates management for the NHS and has an MBA in Leadership.

Becky is passionate about creating workplaces where people belong, have a voice, and see the value in what they are doing. Most recently she has specialised in strategic people support for scale-up tech, professional services, and infrastructure SMEs. Prior to this, she honed her people partnering skills within the luxury hospitality market with Marriott Hotels and Celebrity Cruises, where quality and customer satisfaction were top priority in driving revenue. Her philosophy is “leave it better than you found it” and she firmly believes small changes can lead to big ones.

Becky has Member status at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Keith is a marketer specialising in high growth tech and eco companies. He has worked with visionary firms around the globe, including Polte (5G IoT, US) and Neural Concept (AI, Switzerland). Previous CMO engagements include smart city pioneer Telensa, responsible for connecting and decarbonising millions of streetlights. Earlier marketing leadership roles with UK firms Ubiquisys and Cramer led to high value acquisitions by Cisco and Amdocs respectively.

Claire joined Zest in 2023 and heads up our Business Assurance and PMO function. She brings a wealth of cross-sector project and programme management experience, most recently from NHS Digital, where she managed a range of technology, business change and implementation projects over the last 10 years. She has a Politics and Parliamentary Studies degree from the University of Leeds and is passionate about sustainability.

John comes from an application development background and has 25 years’ experience of providing technical leadership and defining architectural strategy. He has worked in a range of senior business and technical roles including Barclays Bank, CAPITA, Sainsbury’s Bank, The Very Group, United Utilities, Royal Bank of Scotland, Accenture, Vertex, NHS Scotland and the Student Loans Company. John has also led projects for several growth stage technology companies.

Dan has held instrumental deployment roles in the EV sector, working with multiple EV delivery teams including Charge Point Services, Engie EV Solutions and most recently MFG EV Power. Dan refined his EV skillset at SSE Enterprise, where he set the foundations and standards for their ongoing flagship EV Project. Dan has 15 years experience in the electrical industry, with deep expertise in managing and deploying high volume multi-site EV portfolios from inception to completion.

Andy has more 10 years in the EV Charging industry and over 30 years in the wider electrical industry. As UK Operations Director for EQUANS EV Solutions, and prior to that with Centrica, he has deployed thousands of AC and DC chargers.

Andy has led some of the trail-blazing mass-scale rapid charger deployments in the UK, such as for WM Morrisons and Whitbread Premier Inn, and in the public sector for West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA). His automotive OEM projects include Tesla, Nissan, Renault and Volvo.

Michael joined Zest in 2024 and heads up the Legal & Planning Team. He brings with him a wealth of real estate & development knowledge and experience having represented a variety of major organisations throughout his legal career. These include Barratt and David Wilson Homes, Rushbond PLC and the Federation of Master Builders.

As Zest accelerates the development of new charging facilities across the UK, Michael’s team is instrumental in forging new agreements with real estate developers, asset managers and brands. Michael is a qualified solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.

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With 35 years' experience, Mark is a seasoned automotive industry leader with deep expertise in operations management and a focus on customer experience. Before joining Zest, Mark was Operations Director at Constellation Automotive (BCA) overseeing QA for Cinch, the online car retailer. As Head of Inspections at Cox Automotive, he pioneered the inspection and collection for end of lease electric vehicles. Mark employs his expertise in customer journey mapping, feedback analysis, and personalised service strategies to drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Richard brings 25 years expertise in the high tech and software industry. As CEO of Dense Air Ltd Richard restructured the business globally and developed an infrastructure proposition that enabled a market pivot and operational scale. As CEO of ip.access Ltd Richard led the turnaround of the business resulting in the eventual sale of ip.access to Mavenir. Prior to ip.access & Mavenir Richard held leadership positions in Stratto (now part of Digital Colony), Ubiquisys (now part of Cisco) Cisco and IPWireless (now part of General Dynamics).

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Massimo is a partner at Zouk Capital, a London based private equity firm focussing in renewable energy, clean infrastructure and the energy transition. At Zouk, Massimo has been involved in transactions in the solar photovoltaic, waste to energy, storage and EV charging infrastructure sectors. Massimo holds a MS in engineering from Politecnico of Milan and an MBA from Columbia Business School of NY.

Andre joined Zouk Capital in 2018 and is a Principal in the Infrastructure team. His responsibilities include deal origination, investment analysis, financial modelling, due diligence, structuring and deal execution. He has worked on renewable energy investment opportunities across Europe and the UK. Andre holds an MSc in Finance from the University of Warwick as well as a BSc in Business from Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany.