Bryson Energy Board

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  Joan Houston (Chair)

  Ms Joan Houston lives in Bangor, Co Down and as a Chartered Accountant has previously held senior positions at Peat Marwick Mitchell (KPMG), Deloitte Haskins Sells and Ernst and Young LLP (now EY).  She was the founding partner for the NI practice of Begbies Traynor PLC, before becoming Chief Executive of her own firm Houston Hunter in 2015.

  Her career in these large firms has been predominately in the field of corporate finance and corporate restructuring having worked on many PLC transactions and carried out a broad range of consultancy assignments, economic and financial appraisals for a number of government bodies.  Joan was the first woman in Ireland to hold an insolvency license and was appointed to the Insolvency Licensing Committee Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (CAI) at inception and as its Chairman since 2007.  This expertise has been used in many industries including a number of complex international restructuring assignments with challenging trading situations, where businesses with hundreds have jobs have been saved and new owners have prospered. Joan has served on CAI technical and policy committees and is currently the Chartered Accountant Ireland’s representative for the UK Joint Insolvency Council.  In September 2016 Joan was appointed to CAI Regulatory Policy Board and she is a member of NI Insolvency Rules Committee.  

  
  Ms Houston was NI Representative 2012-2018 (having previously been NI Chairman) of the UK Association of Business Recovery Professionals Council -R3 and is now a Council member.  Ms. Houston is a board member of the Agri Food and Bioscience institute and chair bof the audit and risk committee,  Chairman of Bryson Energy, a Bryson Group Board member and has served as a General Commissioner for Tax (Belfast) and as Governor, Chairman and Finance Director at Hunterhouse College. 

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  David Crothers

  Since retiring in 2007, David Crothers has joined a number of boards including Fold Housing Association, National Energy Action and of course, Bryson Energy. Passionate about fuel poverty, David is also a member and Chair of the Energy Justice Campaign. 

  David retired as Director of Housing with the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland where his role spanned the voluntary housing movement, private rented sector, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and domestic energy efficiency. 

  As part of his remit for promoting domestic energy efficiency, he initiated a number of pilot schemes to tackle fuel poverty, introduced the Government sponsored Warm Homes Scheme to Northern Ireland, established a Fuel Poverty Advisory Committee and an inter-departmental working party on fuel poverty and produced a Fuel Poverty Strategy for Northern Ireland.

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  Gordon Carson

  Gordon joined the Bryson FutureSkills Board in 2016.

  Gordon is the Managing Director of 4c Executive, a leading provider of executive search services in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and further afield. 

  Prior to joining 4c, Gordon held a number of senior roles in the services sector in the UK and Ireland, following more than a decade within the manufacturing sector across Europe and the USA.

  With over 25 years’ international business experience, Gordon possesses a strong strategic outlook and an outstanding practical knowledge of the key commercial factors driving a business’s sustainable growth and success. His wealth of experience in senior business development roles has instilled in him an unfaltering commitment to setting exceptionally high standards and exceeding client expectations at all times.

• Jo Chada

• Sarah Little