New Appointments News

Highview Power appoints Rupert Pearce as CEO

After departing Inmarsat as CEO, Pearce took a role with technology venture capital Columbia Capital in July 2021.

Highview Power has appointed former Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce as its new CEO.

Highview Power, based in London and Alexandria, Virginia, offers an energy storage solution based on proprietary cryogenic energy storage technology.

In this role, the company said Pearce will leverage his expertise in guiding technology companies through significant transformation and globalisation to position Highview Power as a leader in accelerating the energy transition.

Speaking about the appointment, Rupert Pearce said: “The world has ambitious Net Zero goals and Highview Power is uniquely positioned with a commercially deployable solution that will make a significant contribution to securing those ambitions. The rapid adoption of renewable energy in electricity grid systems brings with it several structural challenges that need to be solved if the world is to fully benefit from its renewables, drive to its net-zero ambitions, and improve its energy security. Our CRYOplatform technology, deployed on the ground through our Renewable Energy Power Stations, provides flexible, long-duration energy storage, energy shifting, and stability services at grid-scale – capabilities that are critical to make renewables reliable and able to meet the increasing need for flexibility, agility, resilience, and security in twenty-first-century grids. I am very excited to be joining Highview Power at the moment when – after many years of superb technological development – our products and services are ready to be deployed in a live grid environment, and the company turns its focus to commercial operations and scaling its activities around the world.”

Before joining Highview Power, Pearce served for nearly a decade as CEO of Inmarsat PLC. Under his leadership, Inmarsat entered the FTSE 100 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. Mastering the technical concepts associated with the satellite and mobile broadband industry enabled Pearce to build impactful business strategies around complex technology and successfully navigate elaborate government processes globally.

Colin Roy, Chairman of Highview Power, added: “Rupert’s successful track record of leading high-growth global technology companies makes him the perfect choice to guide Highview Power as we deploy our Renewable Energy Power Stations to catalyse the drive to net zero, eliminate fossil fuels from national grids, deliver massive operational savings for grid operators and households, and improve energy security and reliability. As a highly respected leader in the technology sector, Rupert has the capability and the passion to help Highview Power deliver fully on its ambitions.”

A graduate of Oxford University and a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, Pearce’s substantial industry leadership includes membership of the UK Government’s Trade Advisory Group for telecom services, chairmanship of the EMEA Satellite Operators Association, board membership for Tech UK and the Smart Africa Initiative, and he served as a Commissioner on the ITU/UNESCO’s Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.