The CEO of an alternative technology centre in Machynlleth has stepped down after two years in the post.

Peter Tyldesley has resigned from his role as Chief Executive Officer for the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), wanting to spend more with his family in Northamptonshire.

“When I started the job, my expectation was that, after I had settled in, my wife and I would relocate to be nearer to CAT,” Peter said.

“The experience of lockdown, like it did for a lot of people, led us to re-examine our lives and realise that, with all our four children living relatively near to us at the moment, and hopefully with the prospect of grandchildren in the not-too-distant future, we had no desire to move further away from family.

“As I did not want to continue spending half of each week living out of a suitcase, I sadly decided that it was time to move on.”

Peter first became aware of CAT when on holiday in the area: “I was aware of CAT before I took the job in 2019 as I first came here in the way that many people do – we were on holiday in the area and it looked like an interesting day out.

“What you don’t see as a visitor, nor I suspect as a student, is just how multi-faceted CAT is: the visitor centre, Graduate School, short courses, information service and membership and fundraising teams plus the increasing amount of work CAT is doing with councils and communities in the UK.

“What all these areas of CAT’s work have in common is passion and commitment of the staff and it has been a huge privilege to lead this team over the past two-and-a-bit years.

“Highs include hosting Autumnwatch and Winterwatch and having Cynefin, our ambitious reimagining of the CAT site, shortlisted for the Mid Wales Growth Deal investment, although there is a lot of work still to do before the project can proceed to the delivery stage.

“A real low was obviously the pandemic, which struck five months after I started and meant that I was stuck at home and unable to visit the site for months at a stretch.

“However, the way in which CAT has come through that awful period, with no jobs lost as a result of the pandemic and with our message reaching more people than ever thanks to the way in which staff rose to the challenge of pivoting to 100 percent online delivery, has been another real high.”

Chair of trustees Mick Taylor said: “On behalf of the Board of Trustees and everyone at CAT, I would like to thank Peter for leading the team through the challenges of Covid-19, and for helping build the foundations for the next exciting phase of CAT’s work.

“Peter leaves CAT in a strong position from which to expand its activities and impact, with a robust strategy in place and an experienced team at the helm.”

Peter will now take six months off, to “catch up with all the jobs around the house and garden”, but will remain “in touch” with the centre after becoming a member.