Dhara Vyas has been appointed as the new CEO of Energy UK.
From next month Dhara, who has been Energy UK’s deputy CEO since November 2022, will take over from Emma Pinchbeck, who announced her departure earlier this month to become chief executive of the Climate Change Committee.
Dhara joined Energy UK as Director of Advocacy in November 2021 from Citizens Advice, where she was responsible for the consumer watchdog’s work on Net Zero, decarbonisation and the future energy market. Prior to this, Dhara led on several retail issues, including customer service, vulnerability and smart energy.
Dhara has also worked in local government and across a broad range of policy areas from civil society and community building to local democracy and scrutiny. She has also been a member of several government and academic advisory boards and is a trustee of independent environmental think tank, Green Alliance.
Dhara Vyas said:
“I am delighted to have this opportunity to lead Energy UK through what will continue to be a defining time for the sector and its role in helping fulfil the country’s ambitions around clean energy.
“These are undoubtedly big shoes to fill but I know what a great and talented team I can count on at Energy UK. I am also looking forward to building on all the work we do with brilliant colleagues from across the industry and beyond.
“It’s a great honour to represent such a vitally important group of businesses. Our members deliver an essential service, generating and delivering heat and power to every home and business in the country. The energy industry will continue to lead the way on decarbonising power and driving economic growth – and I am excited to lead the trade body that is at the forefront of the energy transition.”
David Laws, Chair of Energy UK said:
“We are delighted to be able to announce that Dhara Vyas has been appointed by the Energy UK Board as the organisation’s new CEO. Dhara has all of the knowledge, skills, passion and integrity that our Board looks for in its chief executive and we are very excited that she has agreed to take on this role.
“Emma Pinchbeck has been an outstanding CEO of EUK and we are sorry to lose her. However not only is she taking on a new and crucial role but in replacing her with Dhara we know that the future of EUK is in excellent hands. We are confident that Dhara has the same formidable skills in policy, communication, leadership and values that Emma has so effectively displayed.
“Dhara is already well-known and respected not just by everyone at Energy UK but across the whole sector and all our stakeholders – whether that be consumer groups or government ministers. She will ensure that there is no loss in momentum in our work at a crucial time with a new government in place.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
- For media enquiries regarding Energy UK please contact press@energy-uk.org.uk
- Dhara will officially start as Energy UK’s CEO on November 11th. She joined Energy UK in November 2021 as Director of Advocacy and was appointed as Deputy CEO in November 2022. 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 Board of Green Alliance and EVA England and is also a primary school governor.
- Energy UK is the trade association for the energy industry with over 100 members – from established FTSE 100 companies right through to new, growing suppliers, generators and service providers across energy, transport, heat and technology. Our members deliver to nearly 80% of the UK’s power generation and over 95% of the energy supply for 28 million UK homes as well as businesses. The sector invests £13bn annually and delivers nearly £30bn in gross value – on top of the nearly £100bn in economic activity through its supply chain and interaction with other sectors. The energy industry is key to delivering growth and plans to invest £100bn over the course of this decade in new energy sources. The energy sector supports 700,000 jobs in every corner of the country. Energy UK plays a key role in ensuring we attract and retain a diverse workforce. In addition to our Young Energy Professionals Forum, which has over 2,000 members representing over 350 organisations, we are a founding member of TIDE, an industry-wide taskforce to tackle Inclusion and Diversity across energy.