Richard Knox is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Verlume, a subsea power solutions provider. A chartered engineer with more than two decades of industry experience, Richard is a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and regularly contributes to energy industry events and conferences.
“ People have built their skills within oil and gas and there is so much opportunity to transfer those skills to the renewable industry. We are heading into the next industrial revolution.”
From a young age, I was always trying to design new things. I remember sketching designs of a sledge that would go faster when I was about 10. I asked the lady at the local toy shop to send it to the company which made sledges to see if they could design it. I don’t think I got a response, so I sent the design to Raleigh Bikes in Nottingham; then sent it on to Sturmey-Archer, a company which used to make gears. Someone from the engineering team there replied, explaining what a patent was and that I shouldn’t just be giving people the designs. I was amazed that someone took the time out to write a letter to this little boy up in the North-east of Scotland to give me advice.
There was something about designing, innovation and coming up with new ideas from a young age which effectively, led me on to engineering. I wanted to know how to do that properly, and I have always been interested in business too.
In the early noughties, things started to grow significantly in the energy sector. I’m originally from Peterhead, near Aberdeen, and I was attracted by the growth of the sector and the engineering challenges that came with it.
My Mum was a teacher, so she was supportive academically, and my Dad was a technician in the research and development department of an oil and gas company. He would come home with pictures of wellheads and sometimes take me with him to work. Some of the engineers I met were responsible for designing valves that you can still see in subsea equipment these days. They became strong role models for me.
I studied mechanical in university. My first job within the energy sector was with ABB VetcoGray, which is now Baker Hughes. I worked in everything from drilling equipment through to well heads and subsea trees, which gave me a breadth of knowledge about the subsea industry.
What I like most about owning my own business is that you’ve got the ability to make a difference and effectively create your own path, so your success is much more defined by your own actions. It’s great seeing all the innovation, but a key part of it is making sure that it’s commercial, cost effective, and something that customers want.
We’re not just building a business; we’re creating a new market segment. I really enjoy working with the people at Verlume. We’ve got a great team and a positive culture. I’m trying to build the type of company I would have liked to work for at the start of my career.
The energy industry’s future is incredibly diverse, and I expect to see massive growth in the sector. It’s an exciting time as nobody really knows how it’s all going to pan out. Will we use hydrogen? Will there be carbon capture and storage? How big is the future offshore wind market?
People have built their skills within oil and gas and there is so much opportunity to transfer those skills to the renewables industry. We are heading into the next industrial revolution. We’ve had coal, we’ve had steel, we’ve had oil and gas. And now we’re moving on to the next stage and there will be a whole range of opportunities for people joining the sector.
My advice would be to find the thing you really enjoy and try and learn as much as you can about it. The energy sector is growing so fast and in such a way that your skills will always be in demand.
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