Alex Richards

I am the youngest of five girls, all of whom attended Brentwood. By the time I came to pack my trunk and take the two flights south from our hometown of Kitimat, British Columbia—as each of my sisters had done before me—the proof of concept was well established: some of our most formative years would be shaped at Brentwood, and it offered the best possible springboard into adulthood. Long before it was my turn, my parents were drawn to the School for exactly that reason, the opportunities across academics, arts, and sport were unparalleled—and they played out in one of the most undeniably beautiful settings on Vancouver Island.

Reflecting on my time there, I feel incredibly fortunate to have attended all five years as a boarder. Much of the life I have led since graduating twenty-two years ago can, in some way, be traced back to a trajectory that was set at Brentwood.

There are plenty. Mr. Collins and his enthusiasm for teaching English Literature embodied the well-known phrase: enjoy what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Mr. Medina campaigned for and established the first girls’ rugby team, which I played on, because why shouldn’t there be one? Now working in a largely male-dominated energy industry, I have carried that with me; being in the minority has never held me back from pursuing my goals.

Rowing coaches Ms. Walker and Mrs. Sage ran a rigorous training program, including 5 am winter sessions, and taught us to “empty the tank” to produce a surprise “Brentwood 30”—a winning formula—year after year. It has stuck with me, and I have drawn on it on countless occasions. When times get tough, the answer is simply to double down. Mrs. Mais, Housemistress in Alexandra House, was a constant, reassuring presence through it all, a steady influence, and her quick wit commanded respect. There wasn’t much that got past her! Hockey coaches Mr. Martin and Mrs. Jackson were fantastic too, and had the patience of saints.

Between them, the faculty encouraged me to strive for excellence while maintaining the focus and discipline needed to succeed academically.

Five years as a boarder makes this almost impossible to answer: there are too many—from the quiet Sunday afternoons spent exploring the coastline or hanging out with friends to the calendar highlights, like the Brentwood International Regatta. But underpinning all of it are the friendships. I’m still in touch with many of my closest friends from those years. I see them less often than I’d like now that I live in Scotland, but when we get together it’s as though we’re still those kids at Brentwood. That is genuinely special, and a bond like nothing else.

Brentwood’s 2024 centenary celebration happened to coincide with my twenty-year reunion, an opportunity too good to miss. Flying over from Scotland for a single weekend was still one of the best decisions I have ever made. I’m grateful for the chance it gave me to reconnect, and to be reminded how special and lasting the friendships formed in a mere five years can be. It was as though nothing had changed in twenty years. It also gave me the chance to see how much the School has developed, invested in its future, and transformed into the progressive, world-class campus it is today—which was quite something to take in. It was a proud moment to realize that this was the school that had shaped so much of who I am.

There are many, from the smaller details to the more obvious ones. When I started at the University of Edinburgh, I found I had the discipline to close the door on the relentless fun of first year to study, much as Brentwood Prep had made that feel entirely natural. That structure came naturally to me at university, but it would be remiss not to credit its foundation: the balance of academics, sport, and social routine set at Brentwood.

Just as importantly, Brentwood was such a multicultural and diverse setting that it taught me something I have relied on ever since: that being surrounded by different perspectives and opinions is an opportunity to thrive and grow. The day after my final provincial exam, I was on a flight to travel Europe—and I have been drawn to culturally diverse environments ever since: the Erasmus exchange in Helsinki, Finland, language studies in Annecy, France, and then a career in an incredibly diverse global energy industry. Working around the world has reinforced something that began at school: to approach new people, cultures and ideas with curiosity. That mindset has opened doors professionally and enriched me personally.

When I graduated from Brentwood, I wasn’t clear on my career path, but I have always been guided by doing what I enjoy and what I am good at, and I have found that the latter tends to come naturally if you pursue the former. I can confidently say that the career I have today in the renewable energy industry, having worked for some of the largest energy companies in the world: Swedish power company Vattenfall, energy giant BP plc, and now as Chief Commercial Officer of RTS Wind Group Ltd, was not the vision I had as a sixteen-year-old Brentwood graduate. With the clarity of hindsight, I can pinpoint the decisions that led me here, and what is consistent among them is that I was following what intrigued me. Initially, it was the complexity of the geopolitical energy relationship between the EU and Russia, which I discovered while on the Erasmus exchange program in Helsinki. When I returned to Edinburgh to complete my degree in International Relations, I followed that thread by enrolling in a Master’s in Oil & Gas Law at the University of Aberdeen. I distinctly remember enjoying law in Grade 12 at Brentwood (a new class introduced in my final year) and thinking that an LLM in Oil & Gas Law would combine that early exposure with a specialist subject I had more recently come to find fascinating. It was a combination that led me to graduate with distinction and to begin my career in the energy industry.

My career in the renewable energy industry has been shaped at the crossroads of commercial, legal, and operations. For the past fifteen years, I have worked for asset owners in a range of roles, including several years as head of an offshore wind farm, where I held complete responsibility for the safety and performance of the site, in both an operational and financial sense.

Now, as CCO of RTS Wind Group, I represent a group of highly specialist service providers with offices strategically located around the world. We provide the people, expertise and specialist services to install, commission, operate and maintain renewable energy assets, helping our clients maximise performance while managing risk for our shareholders. No two days are the same. One day I might be negotiating a major commercial agreement, the next exploring opportunities to expand into a new market, or collaborating with colleagues to find the best solution to a complex challenge.

The sense of purpose. The transition away from fossil fuels can only be achieved by driving down the cost of energy, and to a large extent that depends on well-operated, well-maintained assets, something that matters for the next generation, including my own two young boys. It is also the pace of the sector: it has changed beyond recognition even in the time I have been in it, and there is something quite compelling about working in an industry that is constantly evolving.

Family life keeps me thoroughly busy. I try to stay fit and healthy, both physically and mentally, so I can be the best version of myself for them, leaving work behind and being present with them when time allows. A quick hill-run or blast on my bike is the best way to hit the reset button through the week. Sport was such a big part of my life at Brentwood, and it remains so today, while a weekend adventure in the campervan with my family is my favourite way to switch off.

I am very content with where I am in both career and personal life. With my eldest starting school this year, I want to make sure that however busy things get, I’m still able to enjoy the here and now. That being said, my husband and I have always said that should the right opportunity come up for us to live and work abroad (again!), or even return to Canada, then that’s something we would love to consider.

Do what you enjoy, and one thing will lead to another. If you follow what genuinely interests you, you can’t really go wrong. Where you will end up may not be clear to you today (it certainly wasn’t to me), but the opportunities will come. Most importantly, don’t be in a rush to decide what comes next. Go and explore the world first.