High-level hires at Glasgow-based kite energy innovator

A Glasgow-based company developing kite power generation technology has bulked up its senior management team with a raft of top-level appointments.

Simon Heyes is the new chief executive of Kite Power Systems. Picture: Contributed

Kite Power Systems (KPS), which describes itself as the only company in the UK active in the high-altitude wind power sector, has appointed Simon Heyes as chief executive and Andrew Tyler as non-executive chair.

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Heyes joins from renewable power group Infinis, where he was wind energy development and construction director. He has also held roles at Perth-based utility SSE and aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce.

He will work closely with Tyler, who since 2013 has been chief executive of global aerospace and defence company Northrop Grumman Europe and has been an advisor to KPS for the past two years. Tyler has also held senior positions in the Ministry of Defence and was chief executive of Marine Current Turbines.

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KPS said the new team will take forward and commercialise its “pioneering” wind power technology, and follows the recent news of the Scottish Investment Bank’s £2 million investment in the company.

Meanwhile, Sian George, a former chief executive of Ocean Energy Europe, will join the board as a non-executive director.

Heyes said KPS is well placed to develop and commercialise its technology and within three to five years aims to deploy its first 3 megawatt onshore and offshore kite systems.

He added: “With the support of our investors, and with the talented people we have working at KPS, we are in a strong position to develop and commercialise our technology.”

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