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Member News: New team to drive forward Energy Institute vision in Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands

November 13, 2025
Member News: New team to drive forward Energy Institute vision in Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands

The Energy Institute Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands branch has announced the appointment of a new leadership team to drive forward its activities across the region. 

Leading the EI’s largest branch outside London is Michael Howie who has been appointed as the new Chairman. With over 14 years’ experience leading strategic development and market intelligence in the energy sector, Michael currently leads long-term growth initiatives for a leading EPC company in Aberdeen.  

An active EI member for nearly a decade, he previously chaired the Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands Young Professionals Network, served as a Trustee of the Energy Institute, and represented young professionals on the Energy Institute Council (2022–2025). 

Supporting him are three new Vice Chairs: 

  • Angela Burnett, Vice Chair – Professional Development & Community Engagement, brings over 23 years of sector experience, having held a variety of technical roles within leading operators and service companies.  She currently works at Imrandd delivering projects for major operators.  Angela has been actively involved with the local EI for the past ten years particularly, actively encouraging young people to develop careers in the energy industry, including eight years as a committee member.  
  • Dan Byrne, Vice Chair – Technical Programme, brings over 36 years of diverse engineering, operations, project management, decommissioning, and process safety experience gained across the upstream oil and gas sector in the UKCS and the USA.  Dan is passionate about continued professional development, and in helping others build their own technical, behavioural and leadership competencies. 
  • Anna MacLaren, Vice Chair – Corporate Engagement, leads marketing and communications for Energy Transition Zone Ltd.  Anna is a committed advocate for local young professionals, actively championing opportunities for the next generation to thrive in industry.  She has contributed over five years of support to the Energy Institute in North East Scotland and will focus further championing growth and collaboration across the sector. 

Together, the committee will focus on three core pillars of activity – a new exclusive thought-leadership and networking series for mid- to senior-career professionals; a programme of high-calibre technical sessions showcasing best practice and innovation across the energy spectrum; and an expanded professional and community engagement agenda to strengthen links between industry, academia and local communities. 

Commenting on the appointment of the new leadership team Michael Howie, EI Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands branch chairman said:

“I am proud to be elected as the new chairman of the AHI branch, and I look forward to transforming the branch offering for 2026 and beyond. 

“This region has long been at the forefront of energy innovation, from our world-class offshore industry to ground-breaking developments in the renewables sector.  Our mission is to connect energy professionals, foster meaningful relationships, and collaborate through knowledge-sharing and interactive discussions, empowering members to influence the future of the energy sector. 

“We have designed a fantastic programme of events for next year, ranging from technical presentations, private dinners with industry leaders as well as social networking events. We want to create unique experiences for our members, break down barriers, and inspire organic collaboration. I am really looking forward to launching next year”.  

To find out more about the Energy Institute Aberdeen, Highlands & Islands branch, email [email protected]  

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AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

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Scottish Renewables
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Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
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The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy
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Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall
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Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise