Speakers

Jonathan became Ofgem’s Chief Executive Officer on 3 February 2020. This follows his previous appointment as our Executive Director for Systems and Networks in April 2018. 

He has wide-ranging energy sector experience, having led Electricity Market Reform as the Director for Energy Markets and Networks at DECC. Prior to this, he was Director of the Office of Climate Change, a cross-government strategy unit focussed on climate change and energy issues, where he led the development of the Climate Change Act. Earlier in his career, Jonathan was a senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit. 

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics from Glasgow University and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Cambridge.

Gillian Cooper is the Director of Energy at Citizens Advice. Since 2018, she has led the organisation’s role as statutory energy advocate for consumers and small businesses, including expanding its remit to heat networks. She also directs the organisation’s strategy for energy advice, ensuring its services are able to meet people’s changing needs. Gillian has two decades of experience representing consumers in roles across various organisations. 

David Clifford is a registered British Sign Language/English interpreter with over 10 years of experience of providing access for the Deaf community and facilitating communication between Deaf and hearing people. He has worked in a variety of domains, both nationally and internationally, including legal, medical, conference, politics, education, and the performing arts.

Simon Evans is Deputy Editor and Senior Policy Editor at Carbon Brief, one of the world’s leading climate publications. Simon reports on a host of climate-centric concerns such as UK climate policy, as well as international climate negotiations, which he’s attended since the COP21 Paris Agreement was finalised in 2015.  

Evans’ data-driven analysis has been reported on by outlets worldwide and his work has been cited by world leaders, scientists, celebrities and campaigners. 

Before joining Carbon Brief, Evans worked at the ENDS Report, one of the UK’s longest-running environmental publications, for 6 years, and at the Harvard Sussex Programme on chemical and biological weapons policy, where he helped unmask the formula of the “Novichok” nerve agent later used in the Salisbury poisonings. He studied chemistry at Oxford and holds a PhD from Bristol. 

Rachel Fletcher joined Octopus Energy as Director for Regulation and Economics in April 2021, having been Ofwat’s Chief Executive for three years. There she worked to strengthen the water industry’s focus on its public purpose, to increase its effectiveness in improving the environment and to lay the foundations for investment in regional transfers required to meet the country’s future water requirements.  
 
She was a Senior Director and a Board member of Ofgem for many years, leading work on smart grids, wholesale market improvements and the shift to principle based retail  
regulation. Rachel started her career in utilities as a consultant where, having gained experience in advising on the introduction of third party access onto the gas network following the breakup of British Gas, she worked on a large number of international energy industry privatisation and restructuring projects. She joined Octopus Energy to help bring about the energy system changes needed to achieve net zero quickly and affordably. 

Ravi is the Chief Executive of Nesta, the UK’s innovation Foundation. Nesta’s mission is to design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest challenges, from sustainability, and health to educational inequality. Ravi also leads the Behavioural Insights Team, also known as the ‘Nudge Unit.’ BIT has grown from a small team in No 10 Downing Street to a 250-person global social purpose consultancy, and subsidiary of Nesta.  

Prior to joining Nesta, Ravi co-founded and led the Airbel Innovation Lab at the International Rescue Committee. He was responsible for designing new products and services for people affected by crises in over 40 countries. Ravi worked in the UK government from 1999 to 2013. He was an advisor and speechwriter to the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, led the creation of Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004, and the world’s first legally binding Climate legislation. Ravi has held a number of non-executive roles, and is currently a lead Non Executive Board member for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. 

Connor Innes is Chair of the Young Energy Professionals (YEP) Forum, a network of over 3,000 members across 900 organisations championing the next generation of energy leaders. Under his leadership, the Forum is focusing on the skills gap and non-university pathways into the sector. Connor holds an MSc in Energy Systems from the University of Oxford and has a background in energy innovation. He runs a boutique energy consultancy supporting projects in heat decarbonisation, local area energy planning, social value, and energy network innovation.

David studied economics at King’s College Cambridge, and then worked at JP Morgan and Barclays de Zoete Wedd, before being appointed as Economics Adviser to the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party in 1994.

David became Lib Dem Director of Policy and Research in 1997, and in 2001 he was elected as MP for Yeovil Constituency.

David served on the Treasury Select Committe, and then held a variety of Shadow posts – in the Treasury, Work and Pensions, and Education portfolios.

David was one of the negotiators of the 2010-2015 Coalition Agreement, and he served as Chief Secretary, Schools Minister and Cabinet Office Minister.

Since leaving Parliament in 2015, David has been Executive Chairman of the Education Policy Institute and Education Partnerships Group. David is an Adviser to GK Strategy and a Non Executive Director of Fable Data.

David holds a number of voluntary posts, for example as Chair of the Unlocked Graduates charity.

Anne-Marie Marray has been a qualified British Sign Language/English Interpreter since completing the University of Leeds MA Interpreting course in 2008.  She loves her work connecting with the Deaf and Hearing worlds, interpreting in spaces both personal and delicate such as medical appointments and operations, social services, weddings and births and end of life care.   

She also finds working with students in higher and further education an interesting and important part of her career. She is proud that she has the opportunity to be a part of a team that is working towards greater equality and access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and that her career has led her to ensure access to the larger stages of politics, campaigning and protesting, arts and culture.   Interpreting demands constantly learning and developing one’s professional and personal skill, aspects that Anne-Marie embraces.

Isabella is Vice Chair of the UK Young Energy Professionals (YEP) Forum, where she leads initiatives to promote diversity, skills development, and inclusion across the energy sector. Alongside this, she is an investor at Magnesium Capital, focusing on businesses that enable and accelerate the energy transition. 

Before joining Magnesium, Isabella was part of Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investments team, specialising in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and previously worked in the renewables and EV consulting practices at Accenture and PA Consulting. 

Isabella holds a degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper in London, where she leads an accelerator supporting founders driving progress in Energy Transition and ESG innovation. 

Isabell Poppelbaum currently serves as the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the United Kingdom. Prior to her appointment, Ms Poppelbaum served for four years as Political Advisor to the Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs/Political Director of the European External Action Service in Brussels, covering EU relations with the Asia-Pacific, Global Issues and EU-UK relations. From 2018-2020, she worked on Syria and the Middle East at EEAS Headquarters. Prior to this, Ms Poppelbaum served as Political Advisor in Myanmar and Thailand.

Juliette joined Energy UK in January 2022. She holds a Masters in Engineering from Cambridge University, and has held a variety analytical and communications roles across low carbon generation at Equinor, Orsted and EDF Energy, winning awards for her work.

Juliette is passionate about inspiring and developing others in the energy sector; she was part of the initial team that set up Women in Nuclear, and is a founding member of the TIDE initiative – set up to improve Equity, Diversity and Inclusion across the energy industry. She is also an honorary lecturer at the University of East Anglia.

Steve Scrimshaw is former Executive Director UK&I of Siemens Energy, where he led the transformation of the business as it navigated the complex landscape of the energy transition. 

Fintan is CEO of NESO. Prior to this, Fintan led Great Britain’s Electricity System Operator (ESO) as its Executive Director. He was previously CEO of the EirGrid Group, the electricity transmission system operator and market operator in Ireland and Northern Ireland. He also worked for McKinsey & Co supporting clients across Ireland, the UK and Europe, as well as holding various management roles in ESB in Ireland and the United States. 

Fintan is both a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Ireland and the Energy Institute. He holds a Masters in Engineering Science and an MBA from University College Dublin. 

Marisa is a highly experienced cost consultant with over 18 years in the construction industry, bringing strategic insight to some of the UK’s most complex infrastructure programmes. She has recently supported major High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission projects, which are critical to meeting the UK’s clean energy targets. 

Her expertise spans estimating, procurement, risk management and contract management, with a strong focus on driving value, transparency and resilience in capital delivery. Marisa is passionate about collaboration, believing that successful outcomes come from clear goals and integrated teamwork from the outset. 

As moderator of the “Energy Matters: Delivering Clean Power” panel, Marisa brings a sharp commercial perspective, informed by her hands-on experience shaping commercial frameworks and risk strategies for nationally significant energy schemes. Her ability to navigate complex delivery environments positions her to lead a meaningful discussion on how smarter, more agile infrastructure solutions can unlock the UK’s clean energy potential and drive wider economic growth. 

Dhara joined Energy UK in November 2021 and assumed the role of Chief Executive in November 2024. She is an expert in energy consumer issues and the energy transition, and was named ‘Executive of the year’ at the 2023 Trade Association Forum Awards. Prior to joining Energy UK Dhara led work on Net Zero, the future energy system and decarbonisation at Citizens Advice.

Dhara began her career in local government and has worked across a broad range of policy areas from civil society to community building and deliberative democracy. She has been an active member of several Government and academic advisory boards, is on the Boards of Green Alliance and EVA England, and is a primary school governor. 

Lorna is an entrepreneur who cofounded Camion, a startup at the intersection of real estate and clean energy. Camion’s AI-powered energy analytics platform supports real estate owners and operators maximise returns from clean energy infrastructure while accelerating decarbonisation and electrification of assets. Lorna was previously part of the cofounding team of Modomo, a modular housing startup tackling the housing crisis in a sustainable way. This followed a highly successful corporate career at CBRE for 12+ years. Lorna is also a trustee at the UK Green Building Council. 

Rachel Wolf is the CEO at Public First, leading the agency’s policy work. Rachel co-authored the Conservative Party’s Election Manifesto in 2019. Previously education and innovation adviser to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, she was also Senior Vice President for technology company Amplify in New York City, running one of their main product divisions. She founded and ran the New Schools Network – the charity that helped develop and implement the Government’s free schools programme. Rachel has written for national think tanks and most major broadsheets, and she has appeared on all the major broadcast shows. Rachel began her career as an education and political adviser to the Conservative Party and was a policy adviser to Boris Johnson on his first mayoral campaign and in his earlier role as Shadow Higher Education Minister.