John Barry

Non-executive Chairman, Cory Group

John qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1992 whilst at Ernst & Young after studying physics at university.  During his seven years at E&Y, John worked in the Audit & Compliance and Corporate Finance & Advisory teams.  John then worked for 3i Group between 1996 and 2008 and was one of the founding members of 3i’s infrastructure business and served as a Director of 3i Infrastructure before moving to Merrill Lynch.  More recently he spent eight years as a Managing Director of First Reserve Corporation where he was one of the founders of First Reserve’s energy infrastructure business and a member of the First Reserve Investment Committee.

John is a non-executive director of Anglian Water Group, the holding company of  Anglian Water which supplies water and water recycling services to more than six million customers in the east of England and Hartlepool.  He is also a non-executive director of Selkie Investments Midstream Topco, the parent company of North Sea Midstream Partners which focuses on the ownership and commercial development of large scale midstream oil and gas infrastructure assets in and around the North Sea.

Dougie Sutherland

Chief Executive Officer, Cory Group

Dougie was appointed as the CEO in April 2019.

Dougie brings over 20 years of infrastructure experience working across both the public and private sectors, most recently on the board of multinational infrastructure provider Interserve.  He has developed and delivered major infrastructure projects and public service businesses and has valuable experience in the contracting and commissioning of Energy from Waste plants.

Tess Bridgman

General Counsel and Company Secretary, Cory Group

Tess Bridgman is the General Counsel and Company Secretary for the Cory Riverside Energy Group, a position she’s held since joining the company in 2016.

Tess is originally from New Zealand. She has a background working in renewables, having worked as legal counsel for Meridian Energy, New Zealand’s largest electricity company, which generates electricity from 100% renewable sources (hydro and wind). She sits on the CBI’s Infrastructure Board, and in 2019 won ‘General Counsel of the Year’ at The Lawyer Awards.

Tess holds a BA (majoring in Politics) and a LLB Hons (First Class) from the University of Otago (NZ), and Masters in Law from the University of Toronto. She was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand in 2008.

Ben Butler

Chief Financial Director, Cory Group

Ben was appointed as the group’s Chief Financial Officer in December 2018 having been with Cory since 2010.

Prior to his current appointment Ben was Finance Director of the Cory Riverside Energy business, and prior to that was Head of Group Finance.

Ben was instrumental in reshaping the Cory Group, culminating in the sale of the group to its current long-term owners in June 2018 and, subsequently, the refinancing of the group’s debt facilities.

Ben is a Chartered Accountant and holds an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, and an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College, London.

Fran Comerford-Cole

Director of Logistics, Cory Riverside Energy

Fran is Cory’s Director of Logistics leading their London Transfer Stations, MRF facility and Lighterage and Ship Repair Operations on the River Thames. She also oversees Cory’s Local Authority contracts.

Fran has over 20 years’ extensive industry experience and prior to Cory worked as a Senior Environmental Policy Advisor. Fran has a Bachelor of Science from Massey University (New Zealand) and an Executive Diploma in Management from the Chartered Management Institute (UK).

Chris Girdham

Development Director, Cory Group

Chris Girdham joined Cory in 2020 and is responsible for all of the Group’s planning and development activities.

With more than 20 years’ experience supporting the delivery of major infrastructure and urban regeneration projects, Chris has first and post graduate qualifications in town planning and is currently completing an MBA in Construction and Real Estate.

Chris is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Toby Warren

Human Resources Director, Cory Riverside Energy

Toby is the Group’s Director of HR and has been with Cory for almost 15 years. He is responsible for ensuring that the Group meets and exceeds its employment and pension related obligations and continues to be an employer of choice and an investor in people.

Prior to Cory Toby worked for, amongst others, Harvey Nichols and the NHS. Toby holds a degree in Business and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management.

Toby is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.

David Crawford

Plant Manager, Cory Riverside Energy

Dave Crawford is the Plant Manager for the Riverside Energy from Waste facility and is responsible for the overall management of plant operations.

Over 30 years Dave has gained significant experience within operational and engineering environments.  Starting his career with an apprenticeship in the Royal Air Force, he served on a front-line air defence squadron, based on the Eastern coast of Scotland.  After leaving the military Dave was employed at Barking Power Station, one of the first and largest independent power generation facilities (1GW) in the UK after the privatisation of the electricity industry.

Dave has a BSc (Hons) in Engineering through the Open University. He is a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE) and a member of the Institution of Power Engineers (MIPowerE).

Keen to ensure the development of our younger generation, Dave regularly hosts school events, helping students understand engineering as a potential career and how a modern waste processing business like Cory Riverside Energy operates.  This responsibility is extended outside of the work environment and Dave is a Director of Emerson Park Academy.

Mark Greenwood

Director of Safety, Health, Environment and Quality, Cory Riverside Energy

Mark Greenwood joined Cory Riverside Energy in 2019. He leads the Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Assurance team, who manage all HSEQ processes across the group. He has over 25 years’ experience in high risk industries, starting as a pilot in the Army Air Corps, before joining DS Smith Plc where he became their Sustainability Director and then Group Health, Safety and Environment Director, and most recently he worked at Essentra Plc as their Group Health, Safety and Environment Director.

Mark is a chartered management accountant, and has a Master of Laws in Environmental Law and Sustainable Development, and an MBA. He is a Fellow of the International Institute of Risk & Safety Management