Ofgem has appointed the chief data officer of Lloyds Banking Group as its new non-executive director.
The new role for Barry Panayi, which starts on Monday (16 March), was hinted at by the regulator’s chairman Martin Cave in a speech at Utility Week
Panayi has been in his current role, where he leads the data strategy, governance and data science teams, since February 2018.
Prior to Lloyds, Panayi worked for Ernst & Young, helping to lead the data and analytics practice and has subsequently headed up data and digital teams at Bupa and Virgin.
In a statement announcing the appointment, Ofgem and the department for business, energy and industrial strategy, said Panayi “champions the power of data, not just for organisations but for society as a whole and has worked on numerous initiatives across both private and public sectors as well as promoting the importance of digital skills in our society”.
Last week, Utility Week revealed that the new chief executive of Ofgem, Jonathan Brearley, was planning a restructure.
Details of the reshuffle have not been revealed but it is thought Brearley will aim for a new structure designed to deliver Ofgem’s decarbonisation plan.
A spokesperson for the regulator told Utility Week: “We are currently reviewing the organisational structure of Ofgem to ensure that we are set up to protect consumers as effectively as possible.”