Meet the team
Davin Chown, administrateur
Le rôle de M. Chown couvre la gestion de la stratégie nationale, l’élaboration de l’exploitation et des affaires ainsi que l’élaboration des projets. Il détient un baccalauréat en commerce (UP), un DPLR (UNISA SBL), une maîtrise en gestion (Université Wits) et une maîtrise en gestion écologique durable (UP). He has gained his expertise in strategy, business development and project development in a range of sectors including energy, natural resources, IT, banking, investment and finance, and management consulting. He is a member of the International Society of Industrial Ecology, the Sustainable Energy Society of SA and the Institute of Directors. He founded a number of companies in the sustainability sector and is a director of Genesis Eco-Energy which has been one of the country’s pioneering wind energy development companies, and has been involved in the energy sector in South Africa since 1996.
Leila Mahomed-Weideman, administratrice
Leila heads up the development team in Mainstream SA and manages individual projects such as Jeffrey’s Bay Wind Farm. Leila has worked in the energy sector since 1998. Prior to joining Genesis Eco-Energy and Mainstream SA she was an independent sustainable energy policy specialist and
preceding that the Managing Director of Sustainable Energy Africa, the foremost energy NGO in South Africa. She is currently on the board of a number of environmental and energy NGOs and was previously on committees such as the Regional REEEP and the Long Term Mitigation Scenarios Think Tank on climate change for the Department of Environment Affairs. Leila was also a board member of the Centre for Renewable & Sustainable Energy Studies at Stellenbosch University. Previous to her work in the energy sector Leila worked for research organizations, local governments and consultancies in the land, environment and development sector.
leila.mahomed-weideman@mainstreamrp.com
Ralph Damonse, Development Manager
Ralph’s role spans the full development cycle, focusing on contract negotiations, project permitting, and stakeholder consultations. Ralph’s career in the wind energy industry began in 2006, when Genesis Eco-Energy emerged as a key player in the local RE sector. He focused on relations building with landowners and sites identification. Previously, Ralph managed his own business development consulting business, targeting emerging business development opportunities in the empowerment sector.
ralph.damonse@mainstreamrp.com
Linda Newton Thompson, directrice du développement
Linda’s role is development manager of our solar projects. Through her role, she covers a range of development issues. She also acts as an interface with NERSA on policy and implementation of RE projects in the South African market. Linda started working in the energy markets in the UK in 2000 where she was a founding team member of the Power Exchange, trading power derivatives and spot contracts. On returning to South Africa, she joined Lereko Energy, a company focused on renewable energy project development and investments. She then joined Principle Energy (UK based) as a project developer, which focuses on cane to ethanol. Linda is based in Johannesburg.
linda.thompson@mainstreamrp.com
Leo Quinn, Development Executive
Leo’s work supports all the projects in SA and spans the full development cycle. Leo has led on developing our legal documents and on contract negotiations, project permitting, and stakeholder consultations as well as pursuing new opportunities in greenfield development. Prior to joining Mainstream, Leo worked in the management and technology consulting industry for three years where he assisted a senior vice president in the management of the company’s largest business transformation projects for clients in the both the public and private sector.
Hein Reyneke, Project Development Manager
Hein manages projects and secures new projects through contract negotiations, permitting and stakeholder negotiations. Hein’s role also involves assisting with technical and engineering aspects of the wind farm development process in South Africa. Hein is a Mechanical Engineer. Prior to joining Mainstream SA he was employed by Cape Advanced Engineering since 2000, a Cape Town based research and development company providing products and services to the automotive, marine and rail industry. Hein’s responsibilities included acting as Team Leader for the test and validation department and Project Manager for locomotive and passenger rail test systems. Since 2008, Hein was the Programme Manager heading up the Renewable Energy initiatives at CAE focusing on Biogas and Biomass (Gasification). He took responsibility for development of local fit for purpose technology, project development and business strategies within South Africa’s new growing RE Sector. Hein is based in Cape Town.
Nicoleen Swarts, Senior Development Executive
Nicoleen is based in the Cape Town office and as part of the development team manages projects and assesses new sites for development. She leads on the grid application processes and other grid related issues in Mainstream South Africa. Nicoleen graduated from the University of Cape Town as an Electrical Engineer. Prior to joining Mainstream SA she worked for Eskom Koeberg Nuclear Power Station for 5 years. At Koeberg she was responsible primarily for the South African Grid Code compliance and was involved in the solving of grid related issues. Nicoleen is keen on community development and tutors maths and science to matric students. Nicoleen participated in the Rotary International group study exchange focussing on Renewable Energy in 2009.
nicoleen.swarts@mainstreamrp.com
Shahida Misbach, Office Manager
Shahida is our Office Manager at the Cape Town office responsible for the smooth running of the office by developing procedures and implementing the various Mainstream policies. She will also provide support to the development team where required. Shahida graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of Cape Town. Prior to joining Mainstream she spent 4.5 years at the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape province in the Air Quality Management Unit as their Senior Admin Support officer where she was responsible for the setting up of all administration systems as well as the monitoring of all projects undertaken within the Directorate. She was also responsible for consolidating, analysing and producing monthly reports to Senior Management.
shahahida.misbach@mainstreamrp.com
Mark Pearson, Senior Energy Analyst
Mark manages the wind farm design, wind monitoring campaigns and analysis and energy production calculations across all projects in South Africa. Previously, Mark worked for Garrad Hassan and Partners Ltd since 2003, providing consultancy services to developers and investors in wind energy in markets across Europe and Southern Africa. Mark is based in the London office.