Mike Lockett has been appointed Uniper UK country chair, a role he will hold in tandem with his current duties as chief commercial officer (power) for the Uniper Group.
Lockett has been chief commercial officer since 2017, bearing responsibility for Uniper’s power and fuels commodity trading, as well as optimisation and dispatch of its generation portfolio.
He will divide his time between Dusseldorf, London, and Birmingham.
As part of his new duties he will be tasked with acting as an official external spokesperson on all UK issues, alongside UK head of political affairs and communications, Dr Pauline Lawson.
His energy industry experience includes a variety of engineering and commercial roles since 1997.
As a chartered electrical engineer, he started his career with Midlands Energy, before joining Eon UK, moving to its energy trading business in Dusseldorf in 2008.
Since this move, he has held several commercial leadership roles, and in 2015 became a board member of newly-established Uniper UK, helping guide its way through a separation from Eon and supporting the establishment of the UK business.
Uniper was acquired by Finnish utility Fortum from Eon in June of last year.
He also serves as a member of the supervisory board of the European energy exchange, and is on the management board of Paris-based energy exchange Powernext.
Lockett said: “I’m taking on the role of country chairman at a particularly challenging time for the UK energy sector as it moves towards a lower carbon world, a world in which Uniper’s portfolio, expertise, and experience continue to play a vital role.”