Stewart Mitchell
Chief Executive Officer
Stewart has more than 30 years of experience working in the global energy sector, many of which have been in executive leadership roles. He joined the Sparrows Group as our CEO in March 2014 with a remit to provide leadership and direction in support of our structured, targeted and controlled growth aspirations.
Before joining Sparrows he spent 22 years with engineering, procurement, construction and installation company, McDermott International, starting as an offshore field engineer, holding numerous project management and leadership roles before progressing to senior vice president of the Middle East, India, Caspian and Americas regions.
Stewart is a Chartered Engineer, holds a degree in mechanical engineering and is a member of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology. He has also completed the Executive Directors Program at the Kellogg School of Management - North Western University, and the Executive Management Program at Thunderbird School of Management.
Neil Johnson
Chief Financial Officer
As the chief financial officer for the Sparrows Group, Neil has been responsible for ensuring the financial stability of the business across all of our operations since he joined us in 2014.
With more than 28 years of experience in finance, Neil is a specialist in international markets and has held positions at a number of companies. Prior to joining Sparrows, Neil held a similar role at Promethean World and was instrumental in implementing the group’s strategy, growing and globalising the business, which resulted in the firm entering the FTSE250.
He holds a first-class honours degree in electrical and electronic engineering and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Ewen Kerr
Chief Technical Officer
Since joining Sparrows in 1988 as a draughtsman in the design department, Ewen has worked across most areas of the business, gaining experience in both engineering and operational leadership roles. He is now responsible for all aspects of the group’s technical service development and delivery, including our commercial, business development, supply services and marketing and communication functions.
He is passionate about mentoring and developing talent within the business, whilst also ensuring the quality of our engineering service delivery. He has been integral in fostering a ‘delivery assured’ culture that drives our commitment to provide the highest standards of safety and quality globally.
As a champion of business improvement, Ewen has led numerous campaigns and initiatives to improve efficiency and ensure that the right culture and behaviours exist in the organisation.
Ewen is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and a Fellow of both the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Society of Operations Engineers. He is also a Sparrows Group Board Member.
Adam Wood
Senior Vice President – Americas
As director of our Americas business, Adam oversees all our operations in the US, Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean. He has more than 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and joined Sparrows Group in 2007.
He started his career working offshore as a service mechanic and began at Sparrows managing customer accounts. Adam has held several positions in the business since then and gained experience in operational roles, most recently as vice president of service.
Adam has led our diversification into the US industrial market in recent years. His knowledge of our business and the markets we operate in means he is well placed to implement our growth strategy across the offshore energy, industrial and renewables sectors in the region.
Charlie Topp
Executive Director – Middle East, India, Caspian and Asia Pacific
Charlie has over 30 years experience of working internationally, and as the director for all of our operations in the Middle East, India, Caspian and the Asia Pacific, he is responsible for the growth and service delivery of our business in these regions.
Based in Dubai, where he has been for the last 25 years, Charlie joined the Sparrows Group as a regional director in 2014. His international experience covers also working in Aberdeen, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
Having worked for a number of oil and gas contractors such as Weatherford, Chorley Engineering, BJ Services and Enermech, as well as owning and running his own successful company, Charlie has gained a vast knowledge of the industry and how to be successful within it.
Matt Corbin
Regional Operations Director – Europe
With over 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, Matt joined us as director for our operations in Europe in 2017 and is responsible for maintaining our leading market share position in lifting operations and maintenance in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), while delivering further growth in other sectors.
Matt’s previous experience includes leadership roles at several oil and gas contractors. He was also a supply chain consultant to the UK Government’s regulatory body, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), and contributed to Oil & Gas UK’s Efficiency Task Force. He has been a board member of industry body Subsea UK since 2014 and also supported Scottish Enterprise’s Grey Matters programme in an advisory capacity.
He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Brunel University.
Dave Buckham
Regional Operations Director – Africa
Dave has been with Sparrows Group for more than 30 years and is now the director of our Africa operations with responsibility for all our business in the region.
Having started as an apprentice mechanic in 1989, Dave previously managed our Africa operations between 2004-2012 where he helped establish the strong foundations of the business before returning to UK operations.
Since then he has worked in various managerial roles, most recently as a business manager for several of our key clients where he delivered a number of business improvements. Africa is a key growth area for Sparrows and Dave’s previous experience and knowledge of the region mean he is ideally positioned to develop it further.
Laura Lee
Human Resources Director
Laura started her career with Sparrows in 2009 and is now the director for human resources
Having worked in several HR roles in the company, Laura gained further experience at other oil and gas contractors before returning to us in 2013. Amongst her many roles within Sparrows, Laura was appointed as global head of human resources, before joining the leadership team in January 2019.
Based in Aberdeen, Laura is responsible for managing the global HR function and providing leadership on HR and organisational matters. She is a CIPD qualified HR practitioner with a diploma in human resource management and also holds an MA in politics and sociology.
Bob Jamieson
HSEQ Director
Having started his career over 20 years ago in the RAF, Bob is our HSEQ director providing leadership on all aspects of health, safety, environment and quality across the Group.
Bob joined Sparrows in 2011 as HSEQ manager for the Eastern Hemisphere and most recently held the post of global head of HSEQ. In his previous role as operations manager at Petersons, his HSEQ responsibilities led him to make the change to specialising in the field more than 10 years ago.
During his time at Sparrows, Bob has been responsible for the development of our global management system and continues to ensure its compliance to the relevant requirements. He is also the first point of contact for regulators, industry bodies and clients in respect of HSEQ matters.
Mikkel Lund
Chief Executive Officer – Alpha
Mikkel is the CEO of Alpha, Sparrows Group’s renewables business, and is responsible for growing our global operations in the sector.
Alpha was established by Mikkel in Denmark in 2007 and became part of Sparrows Group following its acquisition in 2017. The business has become a key part of Sparrows’ diversification strategy and has seen strong growth in Europe, Australia and the US where it has recently established an operational hub.
With a background in mechanics, Mikkel has more than 25 years of experience in engineering and started his career as an apprentice before working on passenger ships in the North Sea. He holds a Bachelor of Technology Management and Marine Engineering from Copenhagen University College of Engineering.