Energy Sector Leader Iain Light Appointed to Lead Applus RTD

Applus+, global company in the testing, inspection and certification (TIC) market, announces the appointment of well known energy sector director Iain Light as its new global leader of Applus RTD.

Light has led business operations for major international organizations including DNV and Lloyds Register in a career spanning 35 years, and succeeds Rob Van Doorn as head of Applus RTD, part of the Barcelona-headquartered Applus+ group.

He arrives following four years as energy director for Lloyds Register, based in London, where he oversaw significant business growth including tripling turnover to more than £260m. Prior to this he worked for DNV.

Light, 56, will be based in Applus RTD’s headquarters in Rotterdam, Netherlands. From this base he will lead the development of the business.

He is supported by a worldwide network of regional unit leaders, with business director Neil Hannah, recently recruited from BSI who will heading up its North West Europe operation, based at Applus RTD UK Ltd. From the 1st October 2011.

Applus+ Group CEO Fernando Basabe says: “Iain Light brings decades of crucial business leadership experience to Applus RTD and a clear track record of success with some of the world’s most respected safety and integrity providers.

“His vision matches our ambition, to grow Applus RTD to become the world’s leading provider of asset integrity services through investment in our established key areas of activity, and expansion into new global markets.”

Light says: “It’s an exciting time for the business – across the energy and utilities sectors, there is a focus on improving standards and ensuring compliance across production-intensive and high-risk assets such as upstream and downstream infrastructure, FPSOs and onshore plants.

“There is a renewed global focus and rising demand for asset integrity assurance following incidents such as the Fukushima and Deepwater Horizon disasters.

“The nuclear renaissance, led by France, alongside continued exploration in mature as well as new regions through advanced subsea technology and a major rise in the FPSO market mean that demand is unlikely to decrease.

“Our recent acquisition of both AIM-listed Velosi – a leading provider of inspection, quality assurance, certification and testing services to the oil and gas industries – and Brazilian market leader Qualitec by Applus+ Group, put us in a strong position to capitalise on those opportunities.

“My goal is to streamline Applus+ RTD’s global regions with our local business units operating as one team, supporting and complementing one another as we embark on a major three-year growth strategy.”

A graduate of the University of London in Human Physiology (1976), Light received the PhD in Thermodynamics at the University of Aberdeen before joining an International Biomedical Expedition to Antarctica, studying the long term effects of extreme conditions on human performance.

Following this expedition he joined the Robert Gordon Institute of Technology in 1980, leading research and development activity of the Offshore Survival Centre. During this time he also completed an MBA. In 1989 he moved to Technica which was subsequently acquired by DNV.

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Source: Applus+, September 22, 2011