About
Above is a UK based aerial inspections and data analytics company. The company was established in 2015 having recognised that subsidy-driven construction and pressure on solar panel costs were having an impact on the future life of assets. Realising that PR measurement and string monitoring alone did not give the full picture of a solar asset’s health. Above was the first company to develop a solution that delivered accurately and consistently at scale, using drone-collected data through its bespoke SolarGain Inspection Hub. Above brings together an unparalleled combination of UAV, IT and Solar PV experience to deliver aerial inspection and software solutions to the international solar market.
Our Values
Management
Will Hitchcock
CEO
Will Hitchcock
CEO
Will has had a keen interest in aviation, renewables and energy conservation for many years. Achieving a bachelor’s degree in Air Transport Engineering and an HND in Mechanical & Production Engineering.
Will has over 20 years commercial experience, holding several senior posts in banking and legal IT in London. During 2014 and 2015, as programme director at Push Energy, Will was responsible for the construction of 150MW of ground-mounted solar farms throughout the UK. In September 2015 Will focused on solving an industry problem, how to accurately inspect 100% of modules across large scale solar. Leading to the founding of Above Surveying Ltd. Will is also a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv), In 2011 Will and Simon Gilhooly set up the UK’s first community-owned solar co-operative, Green Energy Nayland, for which he is still a Director.
Lee Maughan
Finance Director
Lee Maughan
Finance Director
Lee is a qualified chartered accountant who spent the first 15 years of his career in accountancy practice before taking the role of CFO in a high growth privately owned business. For most of his career, Lee was a Director at Deloitte in their Entrepreneurial Business and Private Markets teams working with clients across a variety of industries. Lee is also a Trustee of Arthur Rank Hospice Charity and Vice President of the ICAEW East Anglia.
The Team
Simon Gilhooly
Technology and Software Manager
Ion Popescu
Senior Software Developer
Nick Olivier
Research Associate (Machine Learning)
Dr Kenan Isbilir
Technical Consultant
David Garcia
Technical Consultant
Gemma Moore
Operations Manager
Adrien Van Den Abeele
Business Development Executive
Dave Eggleton
UAV Pilot
Steve Shearn
UAV Pilot
Denis Stretton
UAV Pilot
Mike Kirstein
UAV Pilot
Jenna Barker
Lead Analyst
Sarah Jacobs
Marketing Assistant
Paul O'Shea
Operations Administrator
Paulina Sollesnes
Data Analyst
Dr Tom Hall
Senior Technical Analyst and UAV Pilot
Mitchell Peters
Technical Analyst and UAV Pilot
Executive Board
John Cleave
Director
John Cleave
Director
John has an HND in Mechanical & Production Engineering and has been leading BuzzFlyer Ltd since he formed the company over 10 years ago, quickly establishing the company as one of the UK’s leading drone equipment suppliers.
BuzzFlyer was formed in 2006 at the beginning of the electrically powered radio controlled helicopter market and was one of the first resellers for DJI (now the world’s biggest drone manufacturer) in the UK. Since then, the business has grown significantly and now supplies a large retail market as well as producing custom drone platforms for a wide range of high profile industry, research and scientific organisations. Applications range from arctic glacier monitoring, search & rescue and industrial environmental monitoring. BuzzFlyer has built a deep level of drone platform, sensor and gimbal domain knowledge in its technicians who are involved in a wide variety of initiatives for clients
Stuart Bradshaw
Director
Stuart Bradshaw
Director
Stuart, a chartered accountant, co-founded Push in 2012. Under Stuart’s leadership, Push has grown to 50 employees, successfully developing, building and operating hundreds of MWp of energy projects. Stuart continues to lead business development and strategy in the group. He enjoys starting and growing businesses and problem-solving within them. Increasingly he is focused on the development of high-performance teams within the Push group businesses.
