Meet the Team

After nine years as a Chartered Accountant with Grant Thornton, Ben joined Stobart in 2004 after advising on the acquisition of the Group by W.A. Developments International Limited and became Chief Financial Officer in 2007 after leading the Group’s merger with the Westbury Property Fund.

In his role as CFO, Ben was instrumental in planning and executing the organic and acquisitive growth of the Group and developed key external relationships to secure funding to deliver the strategic plan and objectives. In 2014, Ben led the partial divestment of the Eddie Stobart transport business and remained on the ESL Board as Non-Exec Director until the second disposal in in 2017.

In addition to his role as CFO, Ben assumed interim responsibility for the Investments and Aviation divisions, in particular spending 12 months as the interim CEO of our London Southend Airport developing and facilitating a platform for future growth.

In July 2016, Ben became the Chief Executive Officer of the Stobart Energy division and has led the division through a very important phase of its development delivering strong growth as new customer power generating plants have reached operational stage.

As Finance Director Alex is responsible for day-to-day financial operations and the development and delivery of the long-term strategy for Stobart Energy. In addition to Finance he is also responsible for People and Technology. In terms of People, Alex’s focus is on creating an environment and culture where everyone in Stobart Energy has the opportunity to achieve their ambitions and contribute to the growth of the company as well as an environment where success is recognised and celebrated. In terms of Technology, Alex’s focus is on driving innovation and harnessing the latest technology to drive value for customers as well as the operational effectiveness and efficiency of Stobart Energy.

Following graduation from Sheffield University in 2000, Alex trained and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with a Top 10 firm before holding held a variety of senior commercial finance roles within adidas, Nichols (Vimto) plc and Practice Plan. His time working in these organisations has given him exposure to a wide range of businesses from globally recognised brands through to smaller, private equity backed businesses.

Alex lives in South Manchester and outside of work Alex is kept busy by his three young daughters. In the rare instance he does have some free time he enjoys following the ups and downs of Crystal Palace Football Club.

Steve’s earlier career was in third Party Logistics with companies including TDG, Unipart and ultimately as Operations Director of Bibby Distribution. Then, as Bibby Line Group’s Strategy Director, he sat as a director and shareholder representative on all the organisation’s divisional boards around the globe in sectors including financial services, ship management, offshore oil and gas project management and asset management. Five years in retail strategy and operations followed, firstly when Bibby Line Group acquired Costcutter Supermarkets Group and subsequently as Supply Chain Director for Poundworld Retail, where he delivered a strategic review and designed and built a 500k sq ft national distribution centre.

He joined Stobart Energy in 2018 as Supply Chain Director with responsibility for procurement, transport, fuel quality and operational and commercial relationships with our plant customers.

Gareth Vaughan is Projects Director responsible for developing and implementing commercial strategies and objectives aiming to accelerate growth as well as developing key strategic relationships.  Gareth’s recent focus has involved setting up operational sites and working with the Environment Agency to obtain the required permits for our operations and is now focussed upon delivering the Stobart Sustainable Energy Model.

Prior to this role, Gareth has worked across multi divisions within Stobart Group over the past nine years, including Eddie Stobart, Stobart Aviation and Group Finance.

Gareth graduated from Liverpool University in 2001 and qualified as a chartered accountant at Grant Thornton, where he spent 8 years working in audit and corporate tax.

Having started in the Renewable Energy sector in 2007 with AHS Energy and being responsible for sourcing the virgin fuel for UK power plants, the business was acquired by Stobart Group in 2010. Before joining AHS Energy, Neil spent 10 years at a Design & Print company as a Graphic Designer. Now Neil is based in our Kent Stobart Energy Sales Office and overseeing the procurement teams in Widnes and Lamberhurst. Following the birth of his daughter Ella, last year he is kept very busy in his spare time as you would expect. He enjoys most sports and try’s to have a weekly round of golf being a member at a local club.

Neil joined Stobart Energy in 2019 and has responsibility to successfully develop and deliver opportunities with new and existing customers. Neil started his career as an Environmental Consultant testing clay on landfill sites across Wales, since he has gained considerable commercial experience across waste, recycling and renewable energy supply chains in both the public and private sector. Over several years Neil held key commercial roles in the procurement and delivery of major waste and recycling PFI/PPP contracts at Greater Manchester and Merseyside Waste Disposal Authorities.

In 2015, Neil completed an MBA at the University of Liverpool and shortly after joined Viridor as a senior member of its Commercial team. Leading projects on behalf of the Board, Neil was responsible for commercial relationships with supply chain partners and customers delivering new business opportunities and dispute resolution, turning around poorly performing commercial relationships, formulating and executing strategic reviews and delivering innovation projects.

Neil has a keen interest in sustainable and responsible business and works closely with Universities and NGO’s, including the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to further how business can contribute to a more sustainable future. Away from work Neil enjoys watching live music and playing with his two young daughters on Crosby beach.