Event Details

Live online masterclass event open to alumni, students and offer holders of the Lancaster Full-time and Executive MBA programmes.

Alumni of the Lancaster MBA programmes are invited to join current and prospective Executive MBA (EMBA) students for an online Masterclass with global energy software business CEO, Matt Hirst.

Matt, who is CEO of ESG and a 2011 Lancaster Executive MBA graduate, will talk to you about his journey to the top of a $100m turnover global software business. He will share insights from his experiences in leading a management buyout and becoming an owner of a fast growth private equity backed business; assembling and re-assembling the right leadership teams; what it’s like going from 50 to 500 staff; the importance of creating a great ‘culture’; getting the ‘exit’ right for shareholders; and managing a global tech business.

Matt’s talk will focus on the journey of the past 9 leadership years of his 22-year career in software, including the successes, the awards and the hard lessons learnt, followed by a Q&A.

Event details:

Date: Thursday 22 April 2021

Time: 18:00 – 19:00 BST

Format: Live online Zoom event with speaker presentation followed by Q&A.

Speaker bio:

Matt Hirst is the CEO of leading energy technology provider ESG, with over 500 staff and operations in North America, Japan and the UK. Matt was the mastermind and leader behind the 2014 Management Buyout of Utiligroup, backed by private equity firm NorthEdge Capital. Following a period of rapid growth under Matt’s leadership and with NorthEdge’s backing, Utiligroup was acquired by Accel-KKR backed ESG in April 2017. Matt assumed a position on the ESG board and continued to run the UK operation Utiligroup (now rebranded as ESG) before becoming global CEO of the ESG group in July 2020. Matt has integrated several company acquisitions during his leadership. Matt won an EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2016 as well as being a judge in 2018. In 2017, Matt’s team was awarded the Regional and National Mid Market Management Team of the Year awards by the BVCA. Matt holds a BSc (Hons) degree from The University of Salford and an MBA from Lancaster University.