About us
Well-respected and established as leaders of energy-saving innovation, Paul West and Dawn Cutler are the founding directors of 4Ward Energy. They spotted the potential of LED lighting some years ago when they were directors of a start-up company specialising in energy-saving products, cutting their teeth on the first major LED installation (more than 300 stores) for one of the ‘big four’ supermarket chains and long before the global energy crisis.
Winning numerous innovation awards, the company grew to a value of £9 million and was subsequently sold to an AIM-listed company.
Since 2008, Paul West and Dawn Cutler have been integral to the maturity of the LED lighting industry, and bring a proven track record in product design and development, as well as supply and delivery, to produce seamless solutions for their private and public sector clients.
Paul West, Managing Director
Paul West set up his first company, Westco Ltd, in 1995, designing and installing air conditioning systems in the commercial construction industry. Its rapid success was acknowledged in 2001 when Westco reached number ten in the Sunday Times/Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 league table of Britain’s fastest growing unquoted companies and, in 2003, when it was ranked number 26 in the Real Business/Vantis Hot 100.
When Paul went on to found IES Mechanical Ltd as well, he created a group generating revenues of up to £28 million per annum over five years. In 2008, Paul left the construction industry and was invited to become managing director of a start-up business in the newly burgeoning energy-savings sector.
Growing the business nationally and internationally over six years, Paul expanded the product portfolio and created a diverse client base to include corporate giants, government institutions, commercial buildings and retail sectors. The company was then sold to an AIM listed company.
As a co-founder of 4Ward Energy Ltd since 2014, Paul West brings construction experience and business insight – as well as LED expertise – to each project, promoting an ethos of targeted, coherent solutions that are appropriate for individual environments and budgets.
Dawn Cutler, Operations Director
In her past life as an experienced business consultant, Dawn Cutler was involved in the formation and management of businesses in industries as varied as aviation, textiles and high-tech health equipment and was instrumental in effecting cost reductions during the acquisition phase of a large distributor of electronic equipment.
In 2008, recognising the impact of electricity costs on companies’ profit margins, Dawn became a co-founder of a new start-up specialising in energy-saving technologies in which Paul West became the managing director. The industry itself was still in its infancy at that time, and Dawn played a crucial role in helping businesses embrace the commercial advantages and opportunities represented by low-energy technologies.
Dawn went on to co-found 4Ward Energy Ltd with Paul West in 2014. In her role as operations director, she is responsible for project implementation and delivery, client liaison and client satisfaction. As well as organisational flair, Dawn ensures seamless installation by expert installation teams, who may be operating in challenging environments such as large NHS trusts that are trying to maintain normal day-to-day running of services. Dawn promotes the company’s on-going commitment to safe and sustainable best practice in the work environment, and clients have the confidence of SafeContractor SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) accreditation.