We sat down with our newest team member René Morris, Business Development Manager at Ternan, to discuss her background and how she plans to help clients in her new role.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to us René. Tell us a bit about your background.
I studied Geoscience in the United States (Texas) and moved to the UK for my Master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh. For the past five years, I have worked in the oil and gas sector, moving through several roles ranging from data analytics to business development.
My professional career initially focused on geoscience analytics and data application development before transitioning into client-centered roles. I worked in business development for the drilling side of oil and gas before moving to Ternan.
I was attracted to Ternan because I wanted to experience working for a smaller company where I can learn differently and have the freedom to understand all aspects of the business. I’m excited about this opportunity and interested in moving into the renewable space for a different challenge where I can apply my skills in a meaningful direction.
What is your role at Ternan?
My role at Ternan is to engage with our clients to better understand the challenges they face in their projects and how Ternan can create tailored solutions that work for them and their teams.
I identify client needs and challenges and connect them with our technical experts internally. This involves explaining our services and ensuring we provide optimised solutions for each client’s specific situation.
How does your technical background help with client needs?
With a background in geoscience, I can relate to our clients’ challenges, allowing me to get to the heart of the issues they face and ultimately ensure that we generate solutions that work best for them.
Understanding subsurface geology and geophysics means I “can speak the client’s language” and identify where they need our services. This makes the process smoother for clients as they feel more listened to and understood. They recognise that our service comes with knowledge and isn’t simply an add-on for the sake of generating revenue.
How will you be working with the wider Ternan team?
In business development, it’s my job to work across all our teams and connect the right internal expertise with our clients to better solve their challenges.
I’ve had a great start, spending my first month speaking with each team member to fully understand their backgrounds, recent projects and the value they add to the business. This helps me make the right connections between their work and client needs.
As Ternan is rich in technical experience, it’s important to understand everyone’s background to ensure the right fit. For example, when entering a new sector like geothermal, we can leverage team members with deep subsurface understanding, even if they haven’t worked specifically for a geothermal company before.
What do you think will make the biggest impact for Ternan?
A deeper understanding of client needs, working effectively with the wider team and providing bespoke solutions for each client will be critical. My diverse background from an oil and gas service provider brings different experience that can benefit the renewables industry.
There’s valuable knowledge to share between the two sectors. Oil and gas has been around for a long time compared to the newer green energy space.
For Ternan in general, my personal drive is to help the company become more involved in the renewable sector as a whole. While we’re currently very focused on wind energy, I believe we can expand into supporting Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) or geothermal projects to maximise our expertise and further advance these fields.
“I’m excited to be involved in the renewable energy space, which allows me to experience new challenges and utilise my background for a better future.” — René Morris
If you’d like to find out how René can enhance your project, please email rene.morris@ternan-energy.com