Meet the Advisory Board members of Utility Week Live 2026
Composed of fourteen top executives and thought leaders from across water, gas and power, the board will guide the exhibition’s strategic direction, ensuring that it continues to reflect cutting-edge trends, innovations, and the challenges facing the industry today.
The Advisory Board members bring decades of experience across a range of disciplines including policy, engineering and infrastructure, retail, R&D and innovation, offering invaluable insights, in addition to the Utility Week Live team’s extensive market research, to shape this year’s agenda and beyond.
Their input will be critical in curating keynote speakers, panel discussions, and networking opportunities that align with the evolving needs of industry professionals.
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Jake is the Corporate Affairs Director at National Gas and leads a team responsible for the organisation’s external engagement with local communities, civil servants, politicians, and the media. He jo ... -
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Bill has been a transformative force in the energy sector since launching the company in 2003. With a mission to be both pro-pocket and pro-planet, Bill has steered Utilita from a humble kitchen table ... -
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Paul Hickey is the Managing Director of RAPID (Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development) which is a regulatory partnership between Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking ... -
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Chris began his career at Railtrack in 1996 and following a period as an official in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, joined the Go-Ahead Group, where he was Director of Operations, Thames Trains ... -
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H Mottram (CEO) joined the Board in 2010, when she was appointed as CEO of NWL and NWGL. Ms Mottram is a Non-Executive Director of Eurostar International Limited, Vice-Chair of the North East Local En ... -
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Marzia Zafar, Deputy Director of Digitalization and Innovation, Ofgem Marzia Zafar is a global leader in energy transition and disruptive technologies, with more than 25 years in the electric and natu ... -
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Mike Rose, Chief Executive, UKWIR Mike Rose is the Chief Executive Officer of UKWIR, leading and delivering vital research across the water cycle, nationally and internationally. With a proven track ... -
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Phil Jones, Chief Executive, Northern Powergrid Phil is the President and Chief Executive of Northern Powergrid and has been in the electricity distribution sector since 1993. He is a chartered electr ... -
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Dhara Vyas, Chief Executive, Energy UK Dhara joined Energy UK in 2021. She is an expert in energy consumer issues and the energy transition, and was named ‘Executive of the year’ at the 2023 Trade Ass ... -
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Lila is responsible for British Water’s strategic direction, representing the interests of UK water and wastewater supply chain companies together with wider stakeholders across the sector, through th ... -
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James Earl, CEO, Future Energy Networks James is an experienced energy sector leader and CEO of Future Energy Networks (FEN), a membership organisation representing the UK gas networks. He has spent w ... -
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Having been part of the team that established the organisation, Eric remains engaged with the Catapult as Executive Adviser. He is Professor of Practice in Energy Systems in the Faculty of Engineering ... -
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Oliver is experienced in whole energy systems, with knowledge gained in developing net zero pathways, technologies and customer propositions to mitigate climate change and optimise flexibly across gas ... -
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Lawrence was previously Chief Executive Officer of GIIA, the membership body for the world's leading institutional investors. Prior to his role with GIIA, Lawrence began working with Energy UK in 2011 ... -
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Hayley is the Co-founder of the Womens Utilities Network, a platform that supports and empowers women to advance their careers and contribute to the industry's diversity and inclusion. My mission is t ... -
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After a career spanning over 20 years working for major international organisations, Chris joined E.ON in 2014 where he undertook a number of leadership roles both in the UK and internationally before ... -
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As CEO of SP Energy Networks – Nicola Connelly leads all transmission and distribution network activity across Central and Southern Scotland, North and Mid Wales, Cheshire, and Merseyside. She is resp ...
INNOVATION ADVISORY BOARD
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Philip Steele is the Future Technologies Evangelist at Octopus Energy where he leads an international R&D team researching, experimenting & launching innovative new Energy Tech solutions such as half- ... -
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Matt focusses on transformative systems change. He’s an innovation specialist with 30 years of experience across government, regulation, corporates, charities and startups. He’s CEO and Founder of Ide ... -
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Marc co-leads Ofwat's flagship £400m Innovation Fund, overseeing the delivery of the Water Breakthrough Challenge and Water Discovery Challenge competitions alongside stakeholder relationships and the ... -
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Jodie is deputy director of the Ofgem Strategic Innovation Fund, at Innovate UK, supporting energy networks and their partners to develop and deploy transformational ideas to accelerate the transition ... -
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Dr Avinash (Avi) Aithal the Strategic Programme Director at Energy Networks Association (ENA). Avi is also a member of UKRI’s Science Engineering and Technology board, utilising his expertise to champ ... -
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As commissioning editor for Springwise, Matthew oversees the curation of the Springwise innovation database, which contains over 15,000 positive impact solutions from across the globe. He therefore ha ... -
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Denise Massey has been Managing Director of the Energy Innovation Centre since the company's foundation in 2008. Denise led the company from start-up to successful not for profit business, and now hea ... -
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With more than 30 years' experience in the Water Industry, Jeremy is responsible for the management of innovation within the Pennon clean water businesses. He has a keen interest in innovations that w ...
Align your business with the award-winning content programme
The board will advise on a content programme that includes frontline insight into the five themes shaping the industry today: innovation, digital utilities, resilience & regeneration, energy flexibility, infrastructure Ddlivery and customer and community . They will also help Utility Week’s award-winning editorial team develop the programme for the Utility Week Keynote stage, covering the biggest strategic and regulatory issues impacting the industry.
Utility Week Live will increase the focus on innovation, collaboration and delivery at the 11th annual industry gathering as it works with policymakers, regulators and customers to support delivery of the net zero transition, pollution-free water ways, and an infrastructure rollout on a once-in-a-generation scale.
