Proserv boss calls on energy industry partners to support mental health challenge

Firm’s aim was to devise an event that would capture the imagination.

Davis Larssen, CEO of global controls technology company Proserv, will be in the saddle to contribute to the fund-raising effort.

The boss of Aberdeen tech specialist Proserv is looking for the energy sector to get behind an initiative that aims to shine a light on mental health awareness.

Davis Larssen has called on fellow industry partners and stakeholders to support his team’s mental health charity challenge, centred on a 600-mile cycle ride this summer. He points to statistics compiled by Mental Health UK that reveal one in four adults feels unable to manage stress and pressure in their lives.

Proserv and its technology partner, Glasgow-based power system monitoring specialist Synaptec, have come together to form a team of more than 30 cyclists to ride 600 miles in six days this June. The group will set out from Proserv’s HQ in Westhill, Aberdeen on June 7, arriving at its “controls centre of excellence” in Great Yarmouth on June 12. The goal is to raise a target of £100,000 to be shared between charities Mental Health UK and Mind.

The idea was conceived by Bradley Savoldelli, one of Proserv’s team based at Greenbank in Aberdeen, and Larssen says the aim was to devise an event that would capture the imagination and encourage donations for a subject needing wider attention and awareness.

“This will be a taxing physical challenge but we need to turn a spotlight on an issue that every business needs to embrace openly and transparently, not only in the energy industry but across every other sector,” added Larssen. “Many individuals and families live with the impacts of mental health anxieties and stresses every day - they can be hugely debilitating.”