1.Smith feels the Pulse
Renewable energy company Pulse Tidal has appointed Bob Smith as its new CEO. Smith, a chartered engineer who began his career in the energy industry in 1990, was chief development officer at BP Solar, the solar power arm of the oil giant. Before that he held various commercial and operational leadership roles in BP. He is confident that Pulse’s shallow water tidal power technology will become commercially viable ‘very quickly’. The company has raised £2 million to date and has a 100kW test rig in the Humber.
2.New director for Octopus
Property entrepreneur Jo Oliver is joining venture capitalist Octopus Ventures as investor director. He will be responsible for managing and expanding the Octopus Investor Group, a network of more than 100 independent investors who co-invest with the firm, as well as sharing responsibility for the existing portfolio. Oliver began his career as an equity research analyst, and became an executive director at Lehman Brothers. He left the investment bank in 2002 to found two property development companies.
3.Brown heads Maxymiser
Online content optimisation specialist Maxymiser has appointed Tim Brown as new chief executive. Former CEO at search engine optimisation company Touch Clarity and 3i venture capitalist, Brown brings experience that will be ‘invaluable’ to Maxymiser’s next stage of development, according to founder Mark Simpson. In December 2008 the company secured a substantial investment of £2 million from Pentech and Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Co-Investment Fund and is reporting rapid rises in turnover this year.
