Mairead and Joao’s involvement in offshore renewables started at the end of their MSc programmes in the early 2000s - at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and Instituto Superior Tecnico (IST), respectively. A mix of experimental and numerical skills were developed – in leading European research groups.  

Early in its career, Joao was very fortunate to work with technology developers that were about to grid connect the first offshore wave energy converters. This included Teamwork Technology BV – at the time the developers of the Archimedes Wave Swing – and Ocean Power Delivery Ltd (later renamed to Pelamis Wave Power Ltd). This involvement continued into his PhD – both at IST and the University of Edinburgh, under supervision of Prof. Stephen Salter. At this time, Mairead had moved into tidal energy research for her PhD at QUB – a pioneering position – developing a catamaran for large scale field testing of tidal turbines and related velocity / turbulence measurements. 

Throughout their careers, Mairead and Joao also had a number of positions in leading engineering consultancies. Arup, ITPower, Garrad Hassan, and DNV GL (now DNV) are some of the entities where Mairead and Joao were lucky enough to work with, developing their knowledge in key areas. In this period, Joao also enhanced his business acumen by completing an MBA at the University of Bath. 

In 2015, Mairead and Joao started Cruz Atcheson Consulting Engineers. As an independent engineering consultancy, Cruz Atcheson quickly established itself as a leading advisor in the wave, tidal and floating wind sectors. After 3 years and 90+ projects, the team grew and secured two Horizon 2020 projects (MegaRoller and IMAGINE). The interest of larger entities became evident – and Cruz Atcheson was acquired in late 2018 by K2 Management A/S (now part of Ramboll). Owing to the growth of offshore wind and the need for expert guidance, both Mairead and Joao further specialised their skillset in foundation design, mostly for (very) large monopile, jacket and floating foundation concepts. 

By late 2020, and keen to return to their innovative roots, Mairead and Joao started Yavin Four Consultants (Y4). Y4 was lucky to secure two Horizon 2020 projects early in its life (VALID and IMPACT). With offices in Portugal, Ireland and Italy, it also quickly established itself as a leading advisor – especially in the wave and tidal fields. The involvement in flagship projects related to initiatives such as EuropeWave was complemented by a range of commercial projects in other sectors – namely in floating offshore wind. 

Our joint CTO / CSO / CFO, Olivia, joined us in 2021. Talk about #gamechanger. Olivia has unique skills - leading to her triple function in Atcheson Cruz. She has, since 2021, been the joint Crash Test Officer, Chief Smiling Officer, and Chief Fun Officer. Yes, Olivia is busy. And for once, the job titles do say everything.

In 2025, Y4 became Atcheson Cruz. Why not?  We remain based in Portugal and Ireland – but always with a global reach.