Our latest round-up of appointments from across the utilities sector includes an interim chief operating officer to step in while Energy UK’s chief executive is on maternity leave.
Elsewhere in the sector, Ofgem has unveiled a new head of price cap delivery and South Staffs Water and Cambridge Water have appointed new directors.
Energy UK
Industry trade body Energy UK has announced Siobhan Kenny will step in as interim chief operating officer while chief executive Emma Pinchbeck is on maternity leave.
Kenny, who previously served as chief executive of the industry body for commercial radio, Radiocentre, will support the existing team of directors and members throughout 2022.
Prior to her time at Radiocentre, Kenny was director of communications and chief of staff to the chief executive at HarperCollins, VP communications for EMEA Walt Disney TV and director of strategy and communications at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
She is also currently a non-executive trustee at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and has also served as chair of Radioplayer and a board and council member for the Advertising Association. In 2022 she was awarded an MBE for services to radio and young people.
Kenny said of her new role: “I am much looking forward to working with the dynamic team at Energy UK, including the board and the wider industry, during this critical time for the energy sector.
“Emma has achieved so much during her relatively short time as chief executive and I am delighted to be stepping in to maintain that momentum.”
Pinchbeck said: “We’re delighted to welcome Siobhan to the role. Her extensive experience, from running a trade body to working in Whitehall and government, will be invaluable – as will her expertise in overseeing strategy and managing change as Energy UK continues to evolve in the face of the energy transition.
“I am certain that Siobhan and Energy UK’s Board along with our brilliant team will provide a clear voice and expertise on energy issues and continue to work closely with stakeholders to make sure our industry and customers are supported during this extremely busy and challenging time for our sector.”
Ofgem
Energy regulator Ofgem has appointed Christopher McDermott as head of price cap delivery.
The team manager role is a continuation of the previous position of head of price cap and retail monitoring which was held by Amy O’Mahoney since the price cap was first introduced in 2019.
McDermott joined Ofgem as a graduate analyst in 2014 before later becoming an economist.
South Staffs and Cambridge Water
Dan Rhodes has joined South Staffs Water and Cambridge Water as customer delivery director.
He previously worked as head of customer service at Morrison Water Services, where he implemented a change programme to deliver a better customer experience. This programme won the Institute of Customer Service best customer satisfaction strategy in 2019.
Rhodes has also held roles at Severn Trent and Morrison Utility Services.
He will be leading the teams responsible for delivering customer service for both households and retailers, overseeing customer and retailer experience (C-Mex and R-Mex), customer operations, communications, change programmes and new innovations.
Additionally, Tom Fewster has joined as asset management and investment delivery director.
Early in his career Fewster was a project manager for capital projects at the Environment Agency and worked in the renewable energy sector for United Utilities initially before joining RES Group.
At RES he managed project programmes in wind, solar and utility scale battery storage.
For the last six years he has been a capital programme manager at United Utilities for major capital projects, primarily in the waste water function.
Elexon
Balancing and Settlement Code Administrator Elexon has confirmed interim senior responsible officer (SRO) for the Market-Wide Half Hourly Settlement programme Chris Welby has had ‘interim’ removed from his title and will see the programme through to fruition.
Writing in a LinkedIn post, Welby said: “Many thanks to Angela Love and the Elexon board for their faith in me and offering to me the enduring role.”
Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel
Head of the Fuel Bank Foundation Matthew Cole has been appointed as chair of the Scottish government’s new statutory Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel.
The panel is an advisory non-departmental public body which was established in 2019. It takes over from the previous non-statutory Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel.
It will contribute to policy development to tackle both fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty in Scotland.
The panel will collectively hold the Scottish Government to account on its progress in tackling the four drivers of fuel poverty: poor energy efficiency of the home; low household income; high fuel costs; and how energy is used in the home.
Cole’s previous roles include being head of policy and customer vulnerability at Npower. He is a member of SP Energy Networks’ customer engagement group and is currently serving as the independent chair of the Energy Switch Guarantee.
Also appointed to the panel as members are Margaret Corrigan, Kirsten Jenkins, William Alister Steele and Fraser Stewart.
EVA England
Trade body Electric Vehicle Association (EVA) England has appointed its first chief executive.
James Court previously worked in the Cabinet Office on the UK’s COP26 transport policy and helped build the Climate Group’s UK Electric Fleets Coalition (UKEFC), representing the UK’s biggest fleet owners.
Before that he led work with EV charging companies and manufacturers as director of policy and communications at the renewables trade body the Renewable Energy Association.
Court began his role last month.
Arqiva
Smart water metering company Arqiva has appointed Katrina Dick as chief legal officer.
She has been appointed to the Arqiva executive committee and will report to chief executive Paul Donovan in her role leading the legal function and as company secretary to the board.
Dick’s career to date includes roles in top tier law firms in Australia, as well as in-house counsel for the Australian telecommunications and satellite company AAPT.
After moving to the UK two decades ago, she held several roles in the communications, media and broadcasting sectors, including at UKTV.
Most recently she has been interim general counsel for digital gaming, sports and media business at Anzo and before that was general counsel for the Vice Media Group where she was responsible for the legal function in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Previously, she was director of legal for Virgin Media and was general counsel at UK Broadband.