Introducing the Customer Engagement Group for
UK Power Networks

Peter is an Associate with FTI Consulting, Cornwall Insight, Stonehaven, and Sustainability First, where he provides advice to corporates and government agencies on energy market issues.

Peter previously spent 20 years as an equity analyst covering the pan European Utility sector. Peter headed up the sector research teams at a number of investment banks including Kleinwort Benson, Citigroup, and Jefferies. During this period, Peter and his team regularly topped the rankings as voted for by institutional investors. Prior to this, Peter spent 6 years at National Grid where he had a number of commercial roles, latterly as a member of the corporate strategy team with responsibility for the core transmission business.

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 of supporting Customers, Generators and other stakeholders in their contact with Distribution Network Operators.

Ann has over 30 years’ experience in the regulated sectors working with investors, senior leaders, customers and stakeholders in a range of businesses – water, energy, telecoms, transport and social housing – and with government agencies and regulatory organisations in the UK, Eastern Europe, Australia and the Far East.

She is the founder of Indepen, an economics consultancy 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 has 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 a career in marketing and corporate finance with Natwest Investment Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank NA and in industrial relations with Overseas Containers Ltd.

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; a member of the Ofwat expert panel and a Commissioner on the London First Infrastructure Commission.

Ann left Indepen in 2020 and as well as chairing the Customer Engagement Group for UK Power Networks, is an independent non-executive director of Affinity Water and works on a number of interesting consultancy assignments, focusing on communicating and managing risk and uncertainty in the essential services sectors.

A leading figure in the technology sector, Dan chairs SmarterUK – the UK smart infrastructure initiative within techUK – and chairs the British Standards Institute (BSI) Standards Policy & Strategy Committee, with a focus on driving digital transformation.

A former politician heavily involved in energy and technology policy, Dan is a highly effective and experienced speaker and communicator, and is the Chief Commercial Officer at artificial intelligence start-up UnifAI Technology.

A former British Army officer, Dan stepped down from Parliament in 2015 where he served on the Energy & Climate Change Select Committee and the Science & Technology Committee, in addition to chairing a number of influential All Party Parliamentary Groups including the All Party Environment Group.

Dan was founding Chair of the All Party Smart Cities Group and has a strong reputation as a thought leader with regard to Smart Cities, the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital transformation. As an MP he was a Parliamentary Adviser to the Green Alliance and a President of the Young Persons Trust for the Environment.

Sarah is an expert in regulation, competition and consumer policy.

She is currently Chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel, and of the Renewable Energy Consumer Code applications panel, and a member of the Pensions Regulator Determinations Panel, the Judicial Appointments Commission, and the board of the Electoral Commission. Until 2018 she was a non-executive director and Panel Member of the Competition & Markets Authority and the CAA consumer panel. Before that she held various posts as a senior civil servant, mainly at the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Business Innovation & Skills and as CEO of Postcomm.

Nigel is a respected independent commentator on competition in energy markets and their regulation.

He is founder and Director of Cornwall Insight and founder of New Anglia Energy, a company supporting local energy markets in Norfolk and Suffolk and developing regional leadership. Nigel has extensive experience of energy restructuring in the UK and internationally in both the public and private sectors, especially governance related aspects. As a civil servant, he was actively involved in the initial electricity vesting process in the UK and oversaw the establishment of National Grid. He spent much of the 1990s working overseas, involved in energy sector reform in a range of emerging and developed markets. Since returning to the UK, he was founder and ran until 2017 Cornwall Insight, one of the pre-eminent research companies operating in the sector.

Ashleye is an independent consumer policy consultant specialising in competition, customer satisfaction and stakeholder engagement in regulated consumer markets.

She provides in depth insight into consumer behaviour and the factors necessary to achieve the engaged consumers essential for truly successful markets, designing the exceptionally successful collective switch consumer engagement trials for Ofgem in 2018-19. She has a record of delivering influential investigations and policy solutions across consumer sectors.

Ashleye is currently a CMA Panel Member, on the awarding panel for Ofgem’s RIIO-1 Stakeholder Engagement and Consumer Vulnerability Incentive and is a member of Scottish Power Transmission's T2 User Group. She was previously Policy Programme Director at Which? and prior to this had an award-winning career as an advertising strategist.

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

He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Grantham at Imperial College London, where he leads a team in the UK Energy Revolution Research Consortium examining the policy and regulation of smart local energy systems. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Public Power Solutions and Director of Sustainable Energy Futures Ltd.

Previously he was 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 at Sellafield as a research chemist in a nuclear laboratory.

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

An economist, John 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 he led the mergers and acquisitions team in the corporate finance division of Deloitte and worked with UK government departments and agencies on areas of public policy including urban transportation, education, health and social housing.

Dr Ralitsa Hiteva is a Senior Research Fellow in infrastructure change and business model innovations at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex.

Ralitsa has over 15 years of experience carrying out research and writing on the topics of sustainability, fuel poverty, low carbon transitions and EDI. An energy geographer by training, Ralitsa specialises in bringing together different perspectives, policy, industry and society for meaningful engagement with complex policy objectives and topics, such as achieving Net Zero and interoperability.

Her most recent work investigated place-based business models for Net Zero; the environmental impact of digital technologies in the home; and digital inclusion and aging. Ralitsa is an active member of the Sussex Energy Group and the International Symposia for Next Generation Infrastructure.

Phil is at the heart of the Energy System Catapult’s Power Systems Practice playing a key role in the Future Power System Architecture Project.

Phil was sponsored by Norweb, now Electricity North West, studying engineering at Cambridge University. He transferred to the CEGB and, on privatisation, joined National Grid. He currently works part time for the Energy Systems Catapult.

Phil’s career has covered operations from working in the field to acting National Control Engineer on shift, to leading National Grid’s Future System Operation Project.

Away from operation he was a member of the Balancing and Settlement Code Panel and spent two years on secondment to government working on energy resilience.

Andrew is Head of Government Relations for Getir, a customer focused tech start up business.

Prior to this recent appointment, Andrew has over 30 years of working in heavily regulated and highly political sectors.

Previously with Calon Energy, a Macquarie backed gas fired power station business that had four sites across England and Wales.

As well as energy, Andrew has also worked in mining, water and health, both in the UK and internationally, working closely with customer representatives, government departments, MPs and Ministers.

In his spare time Andrew plays golf, travels extensively (pre covid!) and is overseeing the renovation of a 400 year old property (everyone should do it once - never twice).

Andrew now lives between London and Norfolk - both UK Power Networks regions - and has lived in the area for over 30 years. As such, he has a strong understanding of customer and stakeholder needs.

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

A purposeful leader with a flair for turnarounds, Nick currently serves as Chair (Construction & International) at Interserve Group.

Nick made a real difference as an executive at Railtrack, Network Rail, Skanska, Bovis Lend Lease, Navigant and Balfour Beatty. Most recently he led the complex restructuring and turnaround of EfW operator, Cory Riverside, which sold after 3 years for a sum in excess of £1.5bn.

These roles were 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 has served as an advisor to the UK Government.

Julia is Director of Financing for Sizewell C, and is working with Government to identify an innovative way for Sizewell C to be funded at best value to electricity consumers, and with potential investors and lenders to raise the capital required.

Prior to her move to Sizewell C, Julia was Head of Power and Renewables for UK, US & Europe at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP. From HSF she led a cross-practice team advising on nuclear, wind, biomass and tidal projects.

Julia is a Fellow of the Energy Institute, member of CBI Energy & Climate Change Board and of the advisory board for Business in the Community, East of England.

Nikki has more than 20 years’ experience in consumer research, publishing, advocacy and policy. She has held executive and non-executive positions and has significant strategic and organisational leadership experience.

She has an excellent track record in using rigorous, innovative and impartial research and engagement strategies to shape decisions, to understand and give voice to consumers, and to improve product design and service delivery.

She is currently the Interim Chief Operating Officer at Resolver, the largest complaints website in the UK, where she is responsible for the development of its consumer and business-focused data products and software services to promote high standards in complaints and dispute resolution.

Nikki is Chair of the British Standards Institute Consumer Forum that brings together organisations at the forefront of empowering and protecting consumers in the UK. For 10 years she was Group Director of Research and Publishing at Which?, the UK’s largest independent consumer body.

Nikki recently held an Innovation Fellowship at the University of Sussex Business School investigating the development, commercialisation and adoption of emerging automation technologies in retail supply chains.

Anne is a digital and innovation executive and former Chief Digital and Innovation Officer of Visa Europe.

Anne’s expertise lies in Digital Transformation and in creating and implementing high impact strategies to enable the adoption of consumer products and solutions. Anne is now working at Uber managing its newly formed UK Payments business – Uber Payments U.K. Ltd.

Anne started her career working at Exane BNP Paribas as a Trading & Arbitrage Research Analyst before working for Deutsche Telekom, 20th Century Fox and Visa Inc in a number of senior roles where she was responsible for driving sizable P&Ls and launching new consumer propositions and solutions to market across large regional footprints.