Management

Stephen Ellich

CEO & Managing Director

Stephen joined the UCS team in February 2018. He has a wealth of experience gained from more than 25 years of governing and leading large, complex, national organisations through establishment, development and transformational change; helping to deliver sustainable growth, customer engagement and solid business fundamentals.

Stephen’s leadership approach is from a basis of values and practical hands-on management. His key focus areas are customer centricity, operational excellence and innovation. Stephen focuses on values, strategy, technology, process and people to drive sustainable performance.

Stephen’s prior executive leadership roles have been at Downer, Spotless, Utility Services Group, Service Stream, Alstom, Brambles, to name a few.

Stephen holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) Honours degree and a Graduate Diploma of Company Directorship. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Aside from his commercial business work, Stephen volunteers his time with a number of NFPs including YMCA Victoria, YMCA Services, St Kevin’s College and AICD.

Dennis Hesketh

Chief Financial Officer

Dennis is a qualified Chartered Accountant with more than 30 years of experience in finance leadership roles across a broad range of industry sectors, predominantly industrial services and contracting. He is a highly commercial CFO with a strong customer service ethos that enables him to support the growth of the UCS Group. He holds a CA qualification and a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Sam Towan

General Manager Operations

Sam began his career at UCS and has over 13 years of experience in the greenfield development industry. Sam possesses a solid understanding of the land developer’s business, as well as the electrical network construction industry.

Sam understands that delivering a quality, on time service as well as a professional, honest relationship is vital for the success of a project.

Jacinta Cotterell

Facilities Manager & EA to CEO

Jacinta joined the team at UCS in May 2018, bringing 20 years of experience in senior roles in finance and administration. Jacinta’s role at UCS is to manage the Hallam depot and support the CEO and Management Team in ‘making it all happen’. Jacinta is passionate about the ‘cob’ culture and values at UCS and is proud to be working for a company that has grown from its country heritage to an expanding national organisation.

Cameron Watts

General Manager Customer Experience

Cameron joined UCS in November 2016, bringing an extensive sales and marketing background from various industries both in domestic and international markets, as well as strong operational management experience. Cameron understands the importance of honest and professional relationships and ensuring our customers enjoy the experience when engaging UCS. Cameron holds a Grad Cert in Management and has undertaken a Master of Business Administration.

Cameron’s role is also responsible for the design, estimating, and customer support activities to our customers and brings a hands-on management approach. This style allows the business to understand changes in customer needs or market direction and assist in defining the future needs of these markets for the business by maintaining strong relations with our customer base.

Grant Whyte

General Manager People, Culture & Safety

Grant is a highly experienced, commercially focused manager with demonstrated experience across multiple service based industries. His core skills are in strategy development, industrial relations, executive and team mentoring, safety and staff development. Grant holds an MBA and Bachelor of Commerce (HR & Commercial Law), and is a Certified Member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI). Grant’s role is to oversee and guide the people and safety team within UCS, to ensure our team delivers a safe, high quality outcome for our customers.

Abhikesh Datt

Operations Manager (Victoria)

Abhikesh joined UCS in 2016 and manages our field operations, design and project management services.

With more than 10 years of experience in the power industry, Abhikesh is well placed to manage our infrastructure projects.

Abhikesh has an Electrical Engineering degree with honours and has delivered a diverse range of projects from Low Voltage up to 220kV Transmission Levels.

Brigitte Boshoff

People & Culture Manager

Brigitte joined UCS in 2016 as a Payroll/HR Administrator.

In 2018, Brigitte became the People and Culture Manager and manages all HR and Payroll related matters across the UCS Group.

Brigitte brings along with her 25 years’ experience in HR, payroll and finance from a diverse, multi-cultural background.

Brigitte is currently studying towards her Post Graduate Degree in Human Resource Management.

Lucy Conolly

Financial Controller

Lucy joined UCS in June 2018 and provides support to the Chief Financial Officer for UCS’s finance and accounting functions. She is a Chartered Accountant with experience in financial accounting and business partnering roles across a variety of industries.

Igor Sekatski

National Manager Sustainable Energy Solutions

Igor is a renewable energy professional with 15 years of broad-based experience in identifying organisational needs, developing strategy and driving commercial outcomes. He joined UCS in 2021, after a career that included leading new energy transition initiatives including solar, battery, VPP and energy resource orchestration. He develops internal and external investment opportunities, strategic management of stakeholders and JV partners, and oversees delivery for large sustainability projects.