Two key appointments add to Xodus Group’s environmental expansion

International energy consultancy Xodus Group is set to almost double its global environment division by the end of 2019, in line with its goals to deliver a responsible energy future.

The environment division at Xodus provides a breadth of environmental services to support clients across the value lifecycle of an asset. With core competencies in the marine sector, the division offers services across the energy market including environmental engineering, assurance and governance, environmental and social impact assessment, environmental modelling and acoustics.

To support its vision to become the leading global energy consultancy, Xodus has recently appointed two new recruits to the Environment Division based in Aberdeen with almost 50 years of combined experience. Jonathan Ashburner has joined as cables and interconnectors lead while Gill Rodger returns to Xodus as the head of governance and assurance.

Qualifying as a marine mammal biologist with an MRes in Marine Mammal Science at the University of St Andrews, Jonathan began his career as a research scientist for the British Antarctic Survey. In 2014, Jonathan moved into consultancy work at Affric Limited where he supported numerous major marine infrastructure projects from permitting, post-consenting and construction phases.

His key experience includes coordinating the successful marine consent applications and Environmental Impact Assessment for the NorthConnect HVDC interconnector project. Jonathan holds several professional qualifications and is a Practitioner of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.

Gill started her career at Marine Scotland carrying out research in the chemistry department, then moving into environmental protection where she worked on regulatory compliance. From there, she joined Xodus as a consultant for more than four years supporting a wide number of clients and projects in the marine environment.

Gill re-joins Xodus after seven years at Centrica/Spirit Energy, most recently holding the role of environmental discipline lead. She has operational experience of environmental risk management within a wide range of oil and gas operations in offshore UK, Norway, Netherlands and Trinidad and Tobago. She also worked within onshore operations in the UK and Canada.

Jonathan and Gill join a global team of experts covering many backgrounds including marine biologists, chemists, acousticians, environmental advisors, terrestrial and benthic ecologists, oceanographers, traffic, social and fisheries professionals.

In July, Xodus announced it was acquiring Perth-based Green Light Environmental as part of the company’s plans to expand its Asia Pacific (APAC) operations. More than 15% of Xodus’ global environment team is now based within the Perth office.

Christina Horspool, environment manager at Xodus said: “I am thrilled to welcome Jonathan and Gill to further enhance our incredibly successful environment division. By investing in our people, we are developing a team which brings together energy experts from a range of environmental disciplines to address the global energy challenge.

“In a period of sustained growth, the environment division will continue to recruit throughout 2020, including adding further graduate positions to develop the next generation of experts in energy. Talented team members will allow us to expand our capabilities to become the leading global energy consultancy.”