OPTILAN APPOINTS ADRIAN BANNISTER AS CFO – BLUEWATER-BACKED OPTILAN STRENGTHENS ITS SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM AGAIN

● Adrian Bannister joins as Optilan’s new CFO, having spent 25 years specialising in
executive and non-executive financial roles.
● Adrian was involved in the buyout of the Sparrows offshore team in 2000, and has
worked for PE-backed companies like Optilan ever since.
● Adrian will focus on strategic financial planning, ensuring Optilan’s recent growth
continues and the company progresses with its rapid international expansion
targets.
● Bill Bayliss, CEO of Optilan, says: “We are delighted to appoint Adrian Bannister as
our new Chief Financial Officer. Adrian’s wealth of experience working in strategic
executive roles at technology-focused, fast-growth companies will be invaluable
to us as we aim to continue our rapid domestic and international expansion.”
Optilan, the leading security and communications company for the energy, infrastructure, pipeline,
and rail sectors, can today announce that it has appointed Adrian Bannister to its Executive
Management Team as Chief Financial Officer.
Adrian brings over 25 years of experience in Chief Financial Officer roles, and was perhaps most
notably involved in the buyout of the Sparrows Offshore team in 2000. Adrian has worked exclusively
for high-growth and entrepreneurial, private-equity backed companies ever since then.
Optilan is backed by Bluewater, the global private equity firm for the energy transition.
Adrian was most recently CFO at Ardyne, the specialist energy technology business that drives
cutting-edge innovation for onshore and offshore well management. Prior to Ardyne, Adrian held a
series of similar strategic executive roles across a variety of Oilfield Services businesses, making him
an ideal addition to Optilan’s team. In these roles, Adrian helped both established businesses and
new start-ups meet and exceed their growth targets, as well as drive international expansion.
Additionally, Adrian also held a non-executive position for six years at Cortez Subsea, a pipeline
business.
With his combined energy and technology expertise, Adrian is perfectly placed to help spearhead
Optilan’s future growth strategy in key energy and infrastructure sectors. Adrian will bring his
successful track record of growing businesses and his wealth of financial knowledge and industry
experience to Optilan, in order to help define, shape, and execute the company’s domestic and
international growth strategies.
Adrian graduated from RGU with a Degree in Business Studies and then joined EY in Aberdeen where
he qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1988. Following a period working in the profession
supporting a variety of industries across the UK, he returned from London and moved into industry.
Adrian is also a Governor of the reputable Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University, which is currently
Scottish university of the year and UK business school of the year.
Bill Bayliss, CEO of Optilan, adds: “Adrian has invaluable experience in private equity and
helping tech-focused industrial businesses achieve, manage and sustain long-term
growth.”
“Adrian knows the energy sector like the back of his hand and has helped PE-backed,
high-growth companies just like us navigate the industry. He’s therefore perfectly
positioned to lead the company as we evolve our offering across a variety of nationally
and internationally critical industries.”
Adrian, Chief Financial Officer of Optilan, says: “I am very proud to join Optilan as Chief
Financial Officer. Optilan boasts an impressive history of staying at the very forefront of
technology to deliver security-critical and safety-critical systems across nationally and
internationally-critical projects.”
“I am particularly excited about the company’s growth plans, helping clients use the very
latest technology to drive efficiency and optimise their systems in a cost-effective way.”