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Meet the Team

Our Board Members and Executive Management Team, their roles and responsibilities

Executive Management Team

Michael Mc Kinstry Web

Michael McKinstry

Chief Executive Officer

Michael has been Group Chief Executive at Phoenix Natural Gas since September 2014, having previously held the position of Phoenix’s Finance Director from its formation in 1996.

Most notably, he led the business financially throughout its £500m investment in the development of the gas network in Northern Ireland. Today, the company has connected over 225,000 customers and continues to extend its network by c8,000 new connections per annum. The company is currently investing a further £60m in expanding its network towards Newcastle.

Prior to joining Phoenix, Michael gained extensive financial management experience across a broad range of business sectors including Premier Power (energy), GEC (engineering) and Ulster Weavers (textiles).

Kailash Chada

Chief Finance Officer

In a career spanning more than 20 years, Kailash began work with Pricewaterhouse Coopers in Edinburgh before undertaking a number of senior roles in leading financial institutions in London, including Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Royal Bank of Scotland, where he was Chief Finance Officer and interim CEO for a division of Ulster Bank.

As Chief Finance Officer at Phoenix, Kailash is responsible for all financial and funding requirements of the Group as well as for Support Services across the business, including Business Planning, Compliance, IT, Finance and HR. 

Key areas of focus include activity optimisation across the Group and effective environmental, social and corporate governance.  Kailash also leads the Phoenix Energy Services division who play an important role in delivering a high-quality customer experience through the delivery of the gas emergency service and asset repair and replacement programmes.

Kailash Chada Web
Joanne Quinn Web

Joanne Quinn

Director of Regulatory Affairs

Joanne has 32 year’s business experience gained in the retail, banking and regulated utility industries.

As Director of Regulatory Affairs, Joanne has responsibility for ensuring the business complies with its regulatory and statutory requirements.   Having held several key positions in Phoenix throughout her 24 years with the company, four years of which have been at Director level, Joanne previously held the position of Transportation Services Manager where her primary objective was to deliver a 24 hour gas transportation platform which would support the introduction of and facilitate a competitive natural gas supply market ensuring consumer choice.

Joanne has extensive experience in the areas of operational and strategic regulatory negotiation, stakeholder and consumer engagement,  Network Code management, gas retail markets operations, network development, business planning and gas trading.

Joanne graduated from Queens University with a BSc in Pure and Applied Mathematics.

Jonathan Martindale

Director of Business Development

Jonathan has been with the company for the past 18 years, with a background in communications and business development.

With a focus on delivering customer growth across all tenure sections within the Phoenix Natural Gas licence area, Jonathan leads the customer service, marketing and sales divisions and oversees strategic campaign development.

Jonathan also manages the business development strategy for network extension infrastructure investment and supports stakeholder and partner engagement on energy transition and role of natural gas in delivering a lower carbon future.

Jonathan Martindale Web
Denver Wasson Website

Denver Wasson

Director of Engineering

Denver is a Chartered Engineer with over 16 years’ experience, having joined the Phoenix Natural Gas engineering team in 2004 after graduating from Queens University with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering.   

Throughout his career Denver has held multiple senior engineering and management roles within the business.

As Director of Engineering, Denver is responsible for the design, construction, operation and maintenance requirements of the PNG network, including the provision of additional customer connections and the emergency services operation.  He is responsible for the development and delivery of the ISO accredited Health & Safety, Environmental and Asset Management Systems, which underpin all of PNG’s engineering activities.  

Denver is a member of the Institute of Gas Engineers & Managers and Engineers Ireland.


Board Members

Peter Dixon

Group Chairman, Phoenix Energy Holdings


Having moved to Phoenix Natural Gas from British Gas Plc. in 1997, Peter has worked for Phoenix for 24 years. Initially as Commercial Director, he was appointed CEO in 2000, a position he held until 2015.  Peter was appointed Group Chairman of Lionrai Investments and Phoenix Energy Holdings in 2015; working on behalf of the company’s two shareholders: UTA of Australia and RBS Pension Fund.

Peter has continued to work with Terra Firma, Phoenix’s former owner’s, in a number of capacities, including: Chairman of EverPower in the USA, Chairman of Infinis UK and a Director of Four Seasons Heath Care.  He is currently Chairman of Everpower and Senior Independent Director of CPC in Australia. 

Peter was formerly a Director of South East Water Ltd, Sutton & East Surrey Water Ltd and East Surrey Holdings Plc.  Peter was a Harbour Commissioner at Belfast Harbour Commissioners between 2008 and 2016. 

Peter has worked in the utility infrastructure sector for more than 44 years. In addition to being a former adviser to the board of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, Peter is also a Fellow of the Institute of Energy, a Companion of the Institute of Gas Engineer and Patron of the Energy & Utility Skills Council.  

Peter was the founding Chairman of The Energy for Children Trust; a charity that has helped over 8,000 local children in Northern Ireland.  He has worked for and in support of the third and charity sectors for over 20 years and currently helps young people preparing for education and employment to develop a road map to maximise their potential. 

Peter Dixon 1
Brian Ambrose Web

Brian Ambrose

Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd. Chairman

A career spanning 40 years in the aviation industry has included 20 years with Bombardier holding senior positions in Engineering and Business Development.

Joining Belfast City Airport as Director of Operations, Brian was subsequently appointed CEO in 2004.  Brian continued in this role until his retirement in 2021, overseeing significant growth in the Airport’s operations to 110 flights daily, annual passenger throughput of 2.6m and over 1,600 staff working at the Airport.

He is Non-Executive Director, Phoenix Natural Gas, a Trustee of Titanic Foundation and Board Member of Business in the Community.

Brian is the past Chair of CBI Northern Ireland and Tourism Ireland.  He was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours 2011.

Jeremy Bending

Board Member of Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd.

Jeremy has over 40 years’ experience in the gas industry. He was the COO of the National Grid’s Gas Distribution business in the UK and successfully led the organisation through some critical strategic changes in order to prepare the business for the start of the challenging regulatory period that started in 2013.

On leaving National Grid in 2014 Jeremy founded Armco Solutions Ltd and now advises a range of clients from the energy and utilities sector.

Jeremy has recently been involved with some major M&A transactions. In addition to his new role as Non-Executive Director with Phoenix Natural Gas, he also holds non-executive roles with Glover Gas and Power B.V. and Skills2learn (Babcock).

Jeremy is a Chartered engineer and past President of Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers and Past Chairman of the International Gas Union Gas Distribution Committee. 

Jeremy Bending Web

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