Introducing the Independent Stakeholder Group
for UK Power Networks

Ann has over 30 years’ experience in regulated utilities working with investors, senior leaders, customers and stakeholders in water, energy, telecoms, transport and social housing and with government agencies and regulators in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Australia and the Far East.

She is the chair of Indepen, a consultancy she founded that is known for promoting constructive challenge to the status quo. She has convened and chaired cross disciplinary groups to address controversial issues in the public, private and third sectors and has a wealth of governance experience from working with boards and leading panels to review and challenge the thinking, strategies and plans of infrastructure businesses.

Ann lived and worked in UK Power Networks’ regions for over three decades and understands the challenges facing its rich diversity of customers and stakeholders.

Before founding Indepen, Ann worked in the Strategy Group in Deloitte’s management consultancy division. This followed roles in marketing and corporate finance with Natwest Investment Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank and in industrial relations with Overseas Containers Limited.

From 2010-2020 Ann was an independent director and the chair of the remuneration committee on the board of Leeds Metropolitan University (now Leeds Beckett University); deputy chair of Opera North; an Ambassador for Wellbeing of Women; and a Commissioner on the London First Infrastructure Commission. From 2020, as well as chairing the Independent Stakeholder Group for UK Power Networks, she was an independent non-executive director on the Boad of Affinity Water. She resigned from this position in 2022.

Dr Jeff Hardy has over 20 years of academic, policy and business experience in sustainable energy. He has helped clients worldwide understand the implications of zero carbon futures on business models and strategy, consumers, customers and citizens, policy and regulatory frameworks and energy systems.

Jeff is the Director of Sustainable Energy Futures Ltd, a consultancy providing clients with zero-carbon energy transformation advice, analysis and challenge. He is also Deputy Chair of the UK Power Networks Independent Stakeholder Group and a visiting researcher at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.

Previously, he led a team in the UK Energy Revolution Research Consortium examining the policy and regulation of smart local energy systems. He has also been a Non-Executive Director of Public Power Solutions, Environment Mission Lead at Zinc, Head of Sustainable Energy Futures at the GB energy regulator, Ofgem and Head of Science for Work Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He’s also worked at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the UK Energy Research Centre, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Green Chemistry Group at the University of York and Sellafield as a research chemist in a nuclear laboratory.

Peter is an experienced leader, director, and consultant whose skills have been developed during a varied career of more than 35 years in the energy industry including twelve years’ experience at Board level in major plcs and a further 10 years as founder, CEO and then Chairman of Haven Power.

He began his career at Norweb (now Electricity North West) followed by Eastern Electricity and is a graduate of Cambridge University, a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Peter has experience of electricity Generation, Distribution, Trading and Supply including extensive experience as a consultant of supporting Customers, Generators and other stakeholders in their dealings with Distribution Network Operators. He is passionate about delivering for customers and ensuring that business decisions take proper account of customer interests. Peter led the ISG’s work on Reliability and Resilience as part of the last price review.

Nicholas Pollard is an experienced Chair and CEO who has led businesses across the UK, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

A purposeful leader with a flair for turnarounds, Nick made a real difference as an executive at Railtrack, Network Rail and Skanska, before leading turnarounds as the CEO at Bovis Lend Lease, Balfour Beatty Construction and the complex restructuring and turnaround of EfW operator, Cory Riverside (which sold within 3 years for a sum in excess of £1.5bn).

More recently Nick served as NED at Interserve Group, where he helped lead Interserve through a pre-pack administration, complex restructure and series of UK and overseas disposals.

Nick now continues as Chair of Tilbury Douglas Group (a UK construction group, rescued and turned around after a third party buy-out of the pension scheme negotiated with its Trustees enabled its exit from Interserve into new ownership).

These roles were all characterised by tough business challenges: the need for tight governance; regulatory and funding limitations; complexities of major capital programmes; significant risks; operational issues; contractual difficulties and safety critical operation of assets and networks in the utility and transport sectors.

Nick is also the Strategy Advisor to BioZeroC : a climate-tech start-up using biotech and scalable process technology to create carbon negative concrete and associated construction materials.

Nick has previously served as advisor to the UK Government and TfL in a number of different roles.

Nikki Stopford has 25 years of experience in advocating and raising industry standards for consumers. She has a significant background in consumer research, engagement, advocacy and publishing, and in the development of digital products and services.

She is experienced in the delivery of fair, trustworthy, and evidence-based tools and services to help consumers and businesses make better choices and get better results.

She has held executive leadership roles running successful digital and content-led consumer-facing businesses that have engaged and advocated for millions of consumers. She is the co-founder and joint CEO of Consumer Voice [consumervoice.uk] - a newly launch website and consumer community in the UK dedicated to promoting awareness of and engagement with group legal actions.

For over 10 years she was Group Director of Research and Publishing at Which?, responsible for cross-sector research, investigation and testing programmes designed to help people make confident choices about the products and services they buy and use.

She is the current Chair of the British Standards Institute (BSI) Consumer Forum which brings together consumer advocacy organisations, government departments, regulators and enforcement agencies to strengthen the consumer voice in industry standards by sharing emerging data and insight. She regularly features in broadcast media - including as part of the BBC Rip Off Britain consumer expert team.

She is currently developing a new online content website and associated consumer community to promote awareness of and engagement with legal claims representing UK consumers.

John Hargreaves is a Director of Indepen, a consultancy working with infrastructure businesses facing the challenges of regulation, deregulation, competition and restructuring.

An economist, he has been a lecturer and a civil servant and has worked in management consultancy and corporate finance teams. He has advised regulated industries since privatisation through price reviews and industry reform, and has worked with infrastructure businesses in the UK, Australia, and SE Asia. Earlier in his career John led the mergers and acquisitions team in the corporate finance division of a major accounting firm and worked with UK government departments and agencies on policy towards urban transportation, education, health and social housing.

Martin Crouch is a former regulator and economist, with over 30 years’ experience in the energy sector. He introduced the first environmental incentives in electricity network regulation and created the model that has successfully promoted investment in electricity interconnection to support the transition to net zero.

Martin is the Managing Director of 4D Economics, a consultancy providing clients advice on regulation, infrastructure and innovation. He is an Associate with Sustainability First, a charity and think-tank focussed on social and environmental issues in the energy and water sectors.

Previously, he led teams at the GB energy regulator, Ofgem, responsible for network regulation, European strategy, wholesale markets, offshore wind, enforcement and innovation. Earlier in his career he worked for a major American electricity company and for a leading economics consultancy.

Martin is also a non-executive director of Heat Trust, the voluntary consumer protection organisation for district heating networks; and a strategic adviser to Ofwat, the water regulator.