Martin Heaton
Head of Financial Control
Martin Heaton is an experienced financial controller with nearly 20 years’ accounting and financial experience, primarily within energy and extractive industries companies, but also in practice for Ernst & Young.
He has a background of leading teams to produce high quality financial reporting and reconciliations to tight timetables and has done this through continuous improvements as well as offshoring and automation. During his career to date he has dealt successfully with financial reporting for many acquisitions and disposals, and most recently process and control transformations as part of integration projects. Prior to joining RPC he held several financial controller roles at Centrica plc, including most recently in their Business Energy Solutions unit.
Martin has a BSc degree from Nottingham University in Mathematical Physics and was the George Green Prize Winner in his graduation year. He attained his Chartered Accountancy qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).
What’s your role at RPC?
I’m the Head of Financial Control at Renewable Power Capital, which means I am responsible for the integrity of the financial information and financial processes within the Group.
What’s a typical working day for you?
My day hasn’t really ever been as I planned since joining – as a new company things are always turning up unexpectedly – but that’s part of the challenge and makes the day interesting! Over time I hope that we will mature as a company and my day might become slightly more predictable!
What have you found during your time at RPC?
I have found the people at RPC amazing – at the absolute top of their profession. And the pace of expansion is amazing. It truly is a very exciting place to work and the opportunities for growth are huge. Never before have I ever experienced a company doing 2 significant acquisitions in the space of a few days!
What’s your proudest career moment?
My proudest career moment was becoming a chartered accountant and working for a Big 4 firm – this was the key to getting a job at an exciting company like RPC. The experience and skills that I obtained working for an audit practice allowed me to get my first job in Industry for Centrica, before moving into RPC.
What do you do in your spare time?
In my spare time I enjoy playing cricket for my local team. It is a great way to switch off from the intensity of the working week. I also enjoy spending time with my wife and 2 girls.
Where’s your favourite place in Europe?
My favourite place in Europe is the North of Sweden – the countryside is vast and unexplored – and the views are beautiful. I am lucky to have seen a lot of Europe through leisure travel and work – but Sweden is by far my favourite place after the North of England where I was born!
What’s your favourite clean technology and why?
I really like the science and principles behind battery storage. Without battery storage, it is not possible to utilise the full potential of wind and solar due to their intermittency. It seems crazy to switch off wind generation when its super windy just to balance the grid!