Meet the Loowatt Team

UK | MADAGASCAR

 

Virginia Gardiner

CEO

Virginia is the original inventor of Loowatt toilet system. Prior to starting Loowatt in 2010, she spent 7 years working with award-winning product and design companies including Dwell Magazine, and wrote for publications including Metropolis and The New York Times. Virginia holds a joint Masters in Innovation Design Engineering from the Royal College of Arts and Imperial College London and a BA from Stanford University in Comparative Literature.​

​virginia@loowatt.com ​

Sophie Wright

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER​

management accountant and a licenced CIMA member in practice, with nearly 20 years' experience across marketing companies, digital and wholesale industries. She specialises in working with SMEs, with revenue between £1M and £20M. Sophie works part-time for Loowatt (10-20%), supporting Kristina Dalton, our in-house Management Accountant. ​​

Mark Bickerstaffe

CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER​

Directing Loowatt’s design and engineering teams and technology strategy. Mark forged research design and development leadership capability in the first 10 years of Dyson, inventive pioneers of the domestic appliance industry, followed by 15 years at Kohler Co. driving the design-led corporate culture of the leading global Kitchen & Bath company.​

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​Ursula Braun

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MGR

Ursula is driving the adoption of Loowatt systems in urban sanitation markets through business-to-business relationships with utilities and service providers. She has more than 8 years’ experience in commercial and business development roles, and previously worked at IDT Biologika and Bayer in the public health industry, focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. Ursula holds a Master of Arts in International Business from the University of Edinburgh.​

Harry Welfare

HEAD OF DESIGN​

Harry specialises in product development and manufacture, including expanding the use of additive manufacturing to optimise Loowatt’s design process. Previously Harry was a design engineer at a tier one automotive supplier, developing both future concept and mass production products for the likes of Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, and Volvo. He holds a BSc in Product Design Engineering from Brunel University London, specialising in the optimisation of 3D printing technologies.​

Martin Carter

HEAD OF DELIVERY

With a history of embedding foundations for scalable production, Martin is focused on optimising Loowatt’s supply and production processes. Drawing on a breadth of experience from both start-up and large companies Martin developed his holistic business exposure to Director level. Martin attended Loughborough University where he obtained a Bachelors in Materials Engineering. ​​

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Iain Purves

HEAD OF RESOURCE RECOVERY

Iain has been a key member of the Loowatt team in 2010, beginning with developing Loowatt’s UK and Madagascar digestion systems. Iain is based in Margate since 2017, but continues to lead innovations in the Resource Recovery team on polymer film separation and waste processing, and the delivery of machinery in the UK and Madagascar including in

Kristina Dalton

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT​

MAAT qualified, with twenty years accounts experience, across blue chip companies and an SME, with a particular interest in accounts for strategy reporting and development.  Kristina has worked at De Beers and the Co-operative Bank, she joined Loowatt in 2019.  She is the day to day finance person for reporting, Company Secretarial and HR functions.  BA English Literature, Lancaster University.​

Armel Segretain

IMPLEMENTATION ENGINEER

Armel has been working with Loowatt SARL in Madagascar since 2013 on the implementation of our toilets and treatment system, and currently supports the team on technology and business development. An expert innovator in technology solutions for water and sanitation in developing countries, Armel is also involved the field studies and implementation of the new Loowatt project worldwide. MSc Community Water and Sanitation, Cranfield University (thesis on Loowatt in Antananarivo); BSc Water Processes Polytech Montpellier.​

 

Loowatt Madagascar

UK | MADAGASCAR

Our Madagascar team serves households in Antananarivo with waterless flush toilets and end-to-end waste processing that generates value while meeting the requirements of Sustainable Development Goal 6.2 

Anselme Andriamahavita

General manager

Masters of Economics, University of Antananarivo

Anselme manages Loowatt SARL operations, including growth strategies, stakeholder relationships, and supply chains. Anselme’s master’s degree work centered on micro-finance and its potential to create new livelihoods in Madagascar. Before joining Loowatt, he spent three years with the American Government through Peace Corps Madagascar training volunteers in small enterprise development, health care, education and environment.

​anselme@loowatt.com ​

Nancy Rakotoarison

FINANCIAL DIRECTOR

Graduated in Masters of Finance and accountancy, Higher Institute in Management, Private university of Antananarivo. Nancy leads the administrative and financial department by developing and implementing the financial procedures and strategies adapted to Loowatt SARL. She manages and insure the proper functioning of the department. Before Joining Loowatt Sarl, Nancy spent six years in an audit firm, worked with several companies whose accounting management have been outsourced​.

Andry Ratsifehera

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Food technology and Industry engineer, Andry Joined the Loowatt team Madagascar in April 2019, leading the Operations and Servicing logistics. Bringing skills and competencies from 10 years in the manufacturing industry and logistics to support Loowatt strategy and projects success in operational level. Also involved on IT System implementation.

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Rindra Andriamanana

SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR

Graduated in Business Management with a license in Marketing and Commerce, having mainly worked in the field of marketing for over 10 years, she began to take an interest in one of the biggest issues in the sanitation sector in Madagascar which is the access to a decent toilet. she joined the Loowatt Sarl social enterprise team in 2019 as part of the development of its marketing strategy inside its areas of operations.