The Epho Team is a great example of “together we can achieve more than just the sum of the work of individuals”. As one team, we are fuelled by the experiences from a highly diverse group of people. In Epho, we have over 15 different nationalities from almost every continent. Different views and approaches are happily shared amongst the Epho Team, being well diversified in terms of age and gender, with about one third female (high for a solar energy and engineering company). The majority of Epho engineers received their tertiary education from the University of New South Wales, the world’s leading university for solar energy. Our project managers have years of experience in the solar and / or construction industry and, in addition to their project management expertise, they are generally qualified with the Certificate IV in work health and safety. We are always searching to learn from the best, so our team comprises members from the automotive and aviation industries. This inspires us to use the lean thinking approach and learn from their experience in technical procurement. All this means that the Epho Team cares about our clients, takes pride in what we do, delivers on our promises, is fun to work for and easy to deal with. The team is supported and guided by a uniquely qualified and highly dedicated management team, which combines decades of experience in the relevant industries.
Oliver Hartley
Managing director
Oliver Hartley is the Managing Director of Epho with over 25 years experience leading the development of solar energy both in Australia and Europe.
Prior to founding Epho, Oliver was the Managing Director of Hanwha QCELLS Australia, the CEO of the thin-film solar company Calyxo in Germany as well as being a board member and chairman of a number of solar manufacturing companies in Europe.
Oliver founded Epho in 2014 realising that there was a need for a high end solar service solution provider for large commercial and industrial clients. He applied his experience in working for large global corporations as well as managing start ups to develop Epho into one of Australia’s leading commercial solar energy companies.
He has a PhD, which he carried out at the UNSW Photovoltaic Special Research Centre, Sydney, an MBA from the University of London and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Matthias Huchel
HEAD OF ENGINEERING
Matthias studied Electrical Engineering with a focus on renewable energy at the University of Magdeburg in Germany. He started his career in the PV industry installing and monitoring PV systems in Wales and Brazil.
In 2007 he joined Solar Experts based in Berlin, where he successfully planned large scale solar plants with a total capacity of 40 MWp in Spain, Greece and South Korea. He carried out energy forecasts of these PV plants for his clients as well as investors.
In 2008 Matthias joined the Q.CELLS subsidiary Calyxo GmbH where he provided engineering support to customers and helped improve the product portfolio. He moved to Australia in 2010 to become the lead Solar Engineer of Q-Cells Australia before he joined Epho.
At Epho Matthias has led the design team for numerous key projects including Brisbane Airport 6MWp, the Willows Shopping Centre Townsville Solar Carport Project and the Bright Thinkers Power Station™.
Luke Butterworth
head of OPERATIONS
Luke qualified as an Electrical Mechanic and went on to embark on a career in project management at one of Australia's largest and most respected event management companies. Here he learnt the rigour of managing time sensitive projects in a high pressure environment, giving him impeccable time, budget and staff management skills.
In 2010 Luke focused his project management skills on the renewable energy sector and since then has been responsible for delivering the installation of more than several thousand grid connected and stand-alone solar installations nationally. In 2011 he founded CPS Energy, which focused on consulting to renewable energy companies across Australia. He rapidly earned an enviable reputation as the ‘go to’ person when it came to design and installation that others saw as “too difficult”.
It is that reputation that led him to joining Epho in 2014 as Project and Operations Manager. Here he has overseen the delivery of all Epho’s projects and has personally been involved in the design and delivery of some of the most complex solar jobs in Australia such as Brisbane International Airport.
Duncan Taylor
Head of finance
Duncan has been with Epho for almost 3 years and has over 20 years of experience in the renewables, finance, private capital and the funds management sectors internationally. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse and then worked in venture capital/private equity before moving to the infrastructure sector. Duncan held senior roles with Lend Lease, McConnell Dowell, Merrill Lynch (UK), Colonial First State (Aus & UK) and Hambro-Grantham.
He has originated and managed transactions and funds; and held board roles across the various asset classes/stages, including transport, utilities, renewable energy and PPP. Investments include; Anglian Water Group (UK), Perth Airport, Inexus (UK), Gold Coast Rapid Transit and Newham Hospital PFI (UK).
Duncan holds an MBA from the Macquarie School of Graduate Management (MGSM), a Bachelor of Commerce from the ANU and qualified as an Australian Chartered Accountant.
Tatiana Berseneva
Head of Procurement and Logistics, GENERAL MANAGER- LEAN
In 2019 Tatiana joined Epho in the role of General Manager Lean and Head of Procurement and Logistics, bringing her exceptional organisational and process skills into the solar industry to support Epho‘s growth and evolving needs for structure, process and delivery.
With over 10 years of international experience in quality, project & process management in two of the world’s leading automotive companies, Volkswagen and Daimler, Tatiana has driven multiple projects around organisational change, IT quality management, contract frameworks and has developed concepts for connected car digital services and embedded connectivity technologies.
She also worked for Truck Asia Industrialisation in Singapore. where she managed for Daimler the implementation of IT systems required for production of new models in the Indonesian market. Juggling supply chain requirements and deliverables between teams in Indonesia, Singapore, India and Germany.
Tatiana holds a dual Master of Laws (LL.M) degree from the University of Kaiserslautern and University of Saarland (Germany), a Bachelor of Arts in Tourism Management from Harz University of Applied Sciences (Germany) and a Diploma for Linguistic and Intercultural Communication from State University of Ryazan (Russia).
Matt Scaddan
head of business development
Fresh out of University armed with a Bachelor of Engineering degree, Matt joined a fast-growing business as Sales Engineer, providing technical products and services to the environmental monitoring industry. Over the next decade Matt was instrumental in the growth of the business, holding several key roles encompassing business development, marketing, and group management.
In 2011 Matt zeroed in on renewables sector and undertook postgraduate studies in Photovoltaics at UNSW. He became an active member of the local branch of the Australian Solar Council and gained invaluable exposure to energy measurement through working at an innovative energy efficiency firm.
In 2014 Matt joined Hanwha Q CELLS Australia as business development manager. Within three years Matt was key to increasing the PV manufacturer’s market share within Australia by 400%.
Matt joined Epho in 2017 and is responsible for leading the business development team. Matt is proud to have secured key contracts with large retail and property companies.
Axel La Toison
head of NEW TECHNOLOGY
Axel is responsible for researching, developing and assessing new technologies for Epho, positioning the company at the forefront of energy solutions within the industry. His scientific background is coupled with the practical knowhow of project delivery, financial feasibility studies and stakeholder management.
He started his career in Europe working on a range of energy efficient & renewable energy solutions, including solar PV, solar hot water, LED lighting, heat pumps and thermal concepts.
Since moving to Australia in 2009, he has gained a vast knowledge of the Australian renewable energy landscape while working as a Project Manager for EPC contractors, energy retailers and government contracts over the last decade.
His most recent project management role at Epho was focused on the delivery of new technology projects (such as Australia’s first Bright Thinkers Power Station with DHL) and large scale commercial projects (such as Brisbane International Airport).
Axel’s passion for innovative technology is backed up with strong technical knowledge gained through a Masters of Renewable Energy Systems (France), a Masters of Project Management (Australia) and a Bachelor of Chemistry and Physics (France).