I began by asking why the receipt had moved

The first cash schedule I helped prepare for an energy project had a reassuring total and an inconvenient detail: part of the money was held for obligations that prevented it being used for the payment management wanted to make. I was a treasury analyst, and my initial instinct was to improve the presentation of the total. The more useful work was to explain where the money sat, what governed it and when it could actually move. That distinction has shaped my career in energy finance.

I completed a degree in economics and finance at Asterelle Institute in June 1992 and joined Orvenelle Energy the following month. My early responsibilities concerned cash forecasts, debt schedules and supporting records. I had no authority to agree borrowing or direct project spending. Working with more experienced treasury and operating colleagues taught me that a financial commitment has a sequence, not merely an amount. The date on which a resource becomes available can matter as much as its eventual value.

In March 1999, I became a project financial controller at Orvenelle. I led six finance colleagues and worked with construction and operating teams whose schedules drove the funding requirement. A delayed milestone could change both receipts and costs. I learnt to connect the forecast with the practical work behind it, while leaving technical certification and contract interpretation with the people responsible. The role made me more careful about the difference between expenditure not yet paid and a commitment the company could still change.

I joined Velrane Renewables in January 2006 as head of project finance. The business was developing its wind and solar portfolio, and the financing discussion often began before an asset had a mature operating record. I worked with commercial and technical colleagues to understand the assumptions lenders and investors were being asked to accept. I became interested in what a simple energy-price forecast concealed about the timing of output, the contract structure and the costs of balancing a variable generation profile.

The portfolio finance director role followed in July 2012. It added a wider operating account across assets with different contracts, debt arrangements and maintenance needs. An attractive group result could hide a weak project or cash that remained inside a particular legal entity. I wanted directors to see those differences without losing a coherent view of the enterprise. The work also taught me that standardised reporting is useful only when it preserves the conditions that make the underlying projects different.

I became CFO in September 2018 and joined the board as an executive director in February 2020. Velrane now employs 280 people and operates eighteen assets in France, Spain and Portugal. Its 1.1GW installed capacity comprises 670MW wind and 430MW solar. Generation was 2.4TWh and revenue EUR194 million in 2025. I lead twenty-six finance colleagues through four direct reports. My executive responsibility for the financial account and my collective board responsibilities are related, but they are not the same appointment.

One solar proposal illustrated why energy and price need to be considered together. Expected annual output of 160GWh multiplied by a EUR72/MWh annual market assumption produced EUR11.52 million. The generation-weighted view was EUR54/MWh, implying EUR8.64 million before other costs. Neither calculation promised future receipts, but the difference changed the investment discussion. We examined contract alternatives and the exposure retained rather than proceed with the more attractive number simply because it was easy to explain.

Leading the finance team also means making room for colleagues to disagree with an opening assumption. I ask them to explain where a model is weakest and which specialist should help resolve the uncertainty. A confident presentation should not make a junior analyst reluctant to identify a missing condition before the board relies on it.

I have applied the same discipline to distributions, refinancing and uncertain insurance receipts. A lower interest rate should be shown beside its fees; project cash should retain its restrictions; a submitted claim should not become available liquidity merely because management expects a favourable answer. I am now considering an external board contribution where those habits can help another enterprise judge commitments patiently. I would bring energy-finance experience while expecting to learn the new business's contracts, operating realities and governance arrangements. The aim is not a model with an answer for everything, but a board account clear enough to reveal which questions still require judgement.