The Board of Directors of HKD Energy Ltd currently has five members with a varied combination of skills and experience.

John Willis (Secretary and Technical Director) is retired after more than 40 years as a mechanical engineer in the power industry in UK and Australia. Most recently he was project engineering manager for several large power plants including combined power and desalination plants in the Middle East. He is a Chartered Engineer (Australia) and Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. John has lived in Hassocks and more recently Ditchling for over 40 years.

Victoria Standfast (Treasurer) runs her own accounting services business with many clients in the local area. Vic lives in Hassocks and has a son at Downlands School.

Nick Owens (Chair) is a Chartered Accountant who has maintained our books and delivered the statutory tax and financial accounts of HKD since 2015. He has recently retired from a career of fundraising for, and  implementing, NHS IT systems. His passion is to drive the delivery of truly zero carbon homes, both new and retrofitted (a bigger challenge). In 2020 he completed an MSc in Architecture & the Sustainable Environment, and is undertaking a low energy house retrofit. He is a Parish Councillor in Hassocks and member of the parish council’s Planning Committee.

Charlotte Wilson (Communications Director) moved to Hurstpierpoint in 2014 with her husband and twin daughters. Her background is in digital marketing and she has several ethical businesses as clients. During the pandemic, she decided to focus her energy on green issues and co-founded Hurst Rethink, a sustainability group for the residents of Hurstpierpoint. As part of this work, she launched and runs Hurst Village Market, a monthly market featuring local, small businesses. Charlotte is huge believer in community empowerment and a focus on local rather than global.

John Naccarato – John joined us in July 2023 and was for many years a partner in a large international law firm in the City of London, specialising in finance law, until he retired to fulfil his lifelong dream of building a low carbon eco house. He managed the project from start to finish and it completed in October 2022. The house (which has since won a Hurst Society Design and Conservation award) achieved level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. The knowledge he acquired during the build gave him a grounding in many sustainable technologies and a desire to further his passion for sustainability and the environment.