Alexis Barwise received his bachelor’s degree in Engineering (B.Eng.) in both Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the North-West University (NWU) in South Africa. He specialises in power quality and has completed Master’s degree subjects in both power quality and energy management at NWU.

He is an active member on national and international standards and technical committees, such as IEC TC81, SANS 10142-1, SANS 10313. Recently he has been elected, by the SABS, as the Chairman of the TC81 mirror committee, a fitting position seeing as he has been serving as SA’s elected Technical Expert on the IEC TC81.

While working for Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, Alexis filled numerous roles as an electrical engineer. In 2012, Alexis was appointed as Managing Director of DEHN Africa. In 2017, he was appointed as Area Director for DEHN & SOHNE for the Americas, Middle East, and Africa regions where he was exposed to different standards, design philosophies, and technologies.

Throughout his career, Alexis has written several technical articles and provided many training courses in several countries around the world and has gained in-depth knowledge as an Electrical Design Engineer, Systems Engineer, and Lightning Protection Engineer across several different industry sectors.

Meet Elke Powell, the Financial Director of our group who is a versatile and dedicated professional known for her strong commercial background, excellent communication and financial management skills. She has been a valuable team member over the past 4 years and her friendly and outgoing nature makes her an effective manager and leader to our staff. Elke thrives in high-pressure and challenging work environments, showcasing her adaptability and productivity under stress.

Elke spent much of her early career working in the U.K before coming back to South Africa to work as International Commercial & Management Accountant for the Mr Price Group. She holds professional qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CGMA) and has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce with a focus on Management Accounting. 

Elke possesses a range of personal skills, including excellent numeric, reconciliation, analytical, and accounting abilities. She has strong communication and interpersonal relationships within the team and is responsible for high level delegation, supervision and conflict resolution.  Additionally, she is fluent in three languages: English, Afrikaans, and German.

Adriaan Ballack is the Head Project Manager of all our Commercial and Industrial installations. With an extensive 20 years of Electrical Project Management experience, Adriaan has been involved in working on projects such as soccer stadiums, national road weighbridges, commercial office parks, industrial factories, and Eskom power plant (Medupi), to name but a few.

Adriaan has predominantly been involved with solar PV projects for the past 3 years and can be found on-site mainly with commercial, industrial, and agricultural clients. He has also been involved with several of our residential installations as well.

He has comprehensive knowledge in the industry and specializes in managing roof mount and ground mount systems. Adriaan is well respected amongst our corporate clients and always has a smile on his face with a “go-getter” attitude.

Meet Lukas, an experienced Project Manager within our team who plays a vital role in the day-to-day operations within the company. With over 27 years of experience in the electrical industry and 9 years in the solar industry, our project manager is a qualified electrician with a wealth of knowledge in energy management and analyzing customer needs.

Lukas has worked on numerous electrical projects, including residential and commercial solar projects, and has a background in the sales of solar products and electrical equipment.

Lukas’ responsibilities include overseeing final installation checks and issuing Certificates of Compliance of installations for both REG and TEG.

We are proud to have such a skilled and experienced project manager leading our installation teams on site.

Dean has a strong background in project management and operations with over a decade of experience in the mining and construction industries. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to The Energy Gurus.