Frank Bertie
Chief Technical Officer – NAPIT
Frank has been an integral part of the electrical installation industry for over four decades. Initially starting out in the Scottish electrical contracting industry, Frank moved to London in the late 1980’s to begin specialising in inspection and testing.
As NAPIT Chief Technical Officer and Trade Association Chairman, Frank sits on a wide range of influential industry committees, including the BSI/IET Wiring Regulation Committee JPEL/64 and Sub Committee A, BSI Committees, EAS Management Committee, Electrical Safety Roundtable, and the Electrical Safety First Technical Committee.
Paul Collins
Technical Director – NICEIC
Paul started his career as an electrical apprentice in 1990. He moved on to become a NICEIC Qualified Supervisor and gained vast experience in the electrotechnical, gas, plumbing, heating, and renewable sectors before joining NICEIC in 2009.
Paul has held a number of positions within NICEIC, including Helpline Engineer, Head of Consulting, Head of NICEIC, Head of Operations and, most recently, Head of Technical Services. In his role as Technical Director, Paul continues represent NICEIC on various committees and working groups
Gary Parker
Senior Technical Manager – ECA
Gary Parker, ECA Senior Technical Manager, has over 25 years’ experience in electrical contracting, standardisation and membership organisations. He is an experienced and practical engineer, having worked in heavy industry, water treatment, medical locations and general electrical contracting.
Gary is a Chartered Engineer, a Member of the IET and a Member of CIBSE, and represents ECA on numerous British and International Standards Committees.
Darren Staniforth
Head of Technical Solutions – CEF
Darren started his electrical apprenticeship in the mid 90’s for a small electrical contracting company in Cambridgeshire. There he completed his training and managed many large-scale projects such as senior school refurbishments. After several years on the tools and in offices managing projects, Darren was invited to apply for a position at Bedford College, this saw him learn to become a college lecturer.
After a number of years with Bedford College, Darren was leading the Electrical Installation Department and taking on new courses such as Part P and Solar PV. Darren was then encouraged to interview for a Technical Position with NICEIC. Whilst at NICEIC, Darren hosted the organisation’s technical events across the UK and represented its registered contractors’ interests at industry committees. Darren now heads up all customer facing events for CEF.
David Watts
CEO – SparkyNinja
David is a third-generation electrician with 25 years of experience in the electrical industry after completing an apprenticeship with the family firm. Ten years into his career he also started to deliver Level 3 training at the local FE College, where he realised the value in helping in the development of others.
Today he runs his training and consultancy company, SparkyNinja Ltd, which aims to improve the standards of training available for electricians, and with a dedicated voluntary team, supports apprentices and electricians in the SparkyNinja online communities of over 50,000 members.
Robin Whitehead
CEO – BGEN
Robin is the CEO of BGEN, a specialist, multi-discipline engineering solutions business. At the company, Robin has overall responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the business, and in the last financial year alone, oversaw a record year for the business – with turnover increasing by more than 50% to £191m.
Robin began his career with East Midlands Electricity Board and has been in the engineering sector for more than 25 years. He has spent the last 20 years at BGEN where, amongst other things, he has been a keen supporter of attracting more female engineers into the industry, alongside championing a number of net zero initiatives.
