Energy & Utility Skills

Jack Carnell, PhD, MSc, MBA, BSc, C.Eng, Hon MIW

Chair, Energy & Utility Skills
Former Managing Director, South Staffordshire Water Plc

Jack is the former Managing Director of South Staffordshire Water Plc, 2004 to 2010 and has over 37 years experience in the water industry. He is a past President of the Institute of Water Officers (until 2010) and a visiting lecturer in Human Resources and Construction Law at Aston University.

Rod Kenyon, OBE

Deputy Chairman, Energy & Utility Skills
Director, Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network

Responsible to the Chairman of Compass Group Plc (Sir Roy Gardner) as Director of the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network.

Career spent in energy industry MANWEB, British Gas and Centrica Group.

In 1990 became Regional Director of Personnel [West Midlands] with British Gas and in 1993 Head of Employee Relations for British Gas plc.

Following this, as Director of Personnel, with responsibility as principal company spokesman for companywide negotiations with the trade unions. Managing the human resource implications of manpower reductions of 25,000 employees along with a fundamental restructuring of the gas business within Great Britain and later the demerger of Centrica from British Gas plc.

HR Director of British Gas Services Ltd February 1997 until February 2000 and then HR Director at Centrica plc Headquarters working on mergers and acquisitions. Subsequently established and led the renowned British Gas Engineering Academy.

Awarded OBE for services to the energy industry in 2005.

Other positions:

• Vice-Chairman, International Gas Union Task Force 1, Building Strategic Human Capital
• Trustee, National Gas Museum Trust

Qualifications

• BA, FCIS, CCIPD, Comp IGE

Neil Fray

Finance & Performance Director, Energy & Utility Skills
(Company Secretary)

Neil joined Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) in March 2004 as the Finance and Services Director with specific responsibility for Finance, HR and Technology Services. He has contributed to a period of sustained strategic success supported by robust financial and corporate governance. Neil led the Relicensing process for EU Skills in 2009 which resulted in the award of 'Outstanding' status. In 2008 EU skills was awarded a One Star Award by Best Companies and is an accredited Investor in People. In July 2010 Neil was appointed to the Board of EU Skills and the Board of the National Skills Academy for Power and took up the new role of Finance & Performance Director. This extended role includes regulatory responsibilities for the Sector Skills Council and the improvement of performance management across the organisation.

Prior to joining EU Skills he gained over 20 years of experience in a range of commercial sectors including the power, waste and construction industries.

Outside of work Neil has carried out the role of Parent Governor for a local primary school and is currently Trustee of an Evesham based arts charity. He is a keen walker and recently took part in the EU Skills Peaks Challenge. Neil is married with two teenage children.

Ivan Bell

Commercial Operations Director, Phoenix Natural Gas Limited

Ivan is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers, he is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors. He spent eight years involved in various aspects of the natural gas industry in Great Britain. In 1998 he was appointed Transportation Development Manager for Phoenix, before taking on the position of Commercial Manager in November 1999. Ivan is Commercial Operations Director responsible for the Construction, Operation and Maintenance of the Gas Distribution Network, the provision of additional Customer Connections and the delivery of the company's Health, Safety and Environmental policy - including the emergency services operation and Network Design and Planning. He also has responsibility for Regulation since April 2008 and providing transportation services to all gas supply companies and end users.

Simon Catford

Corporate Responsibility & Regulatory Director, Viridor

Simon has been involved in the waste and recycling industry for nearly 20 years, originally joining Blue Circle Waste Management in 1991. Based in Kent, Simon developed all the Personnel, Health & Safety, IT, Quality Assurance and Environmental Management Systems for this subsidiary of Blue Circle Industries until its acquisition by the then Haul Waste in 1995.

After acquisition Simon continued to develop Human Resource and Health & Safety systems for this rapidly expanding company, which re-branded itself as Viridor Waste Management in 1999. Viridor has continued to grow extensively and is now regarded as a major player in the waste and recycling industry with particular strengths in waste to energy, recycling, reprocessing and disposal activities. Viridor continues its ambitious plans for expansion and Simon's position on the Board allows him to ensure that the Human Resources and Health & Safety functions of the Company can match its legal and business obligations.

Before his time at Blue Circle Simon spent many years with ICI, primarily in their Plant Protection Division, prior to which he spent a number of years in private small to medium sized enterprises. Simon is an active supporter of the ESA and sits on their Human Resources committee. He also chairs the Waste Industry Skills Initiative (WISKI) forum.

Tony Cohen

Head of Network Operations, UK Power Networks

Tony started his career as an Apprentice engineer with London Electricity and has held senior positions in the electricity supply industry over the past 35 years. More recently Tony has held the role of Director of the Zero Harm programme and Director of Health and Safety for EDF Energy Networks business. Tony is now responsible for the Networks Operations for the London area of UK Power Networks. He is also a member of Business & Industry Panel of the Engineering Training Board.

Kevin Coyne

National Officer, Unite the Union

Unite has a large membership in most companies within the sector and Kevin is responsible for cordinating a team of regional officials who deal, directly with the companies at both regional and national level. He is responsible for all national negotiations.

Kevin joined the team of officials fifteen years ago, but has been a lifelong member of the former unions that now make up Unite.

Amongst his many responsibilities, he was involved in representing members at Sellafield and was pricipal negotiator at Hydrocarbon resources for Unite`s offshore membership for several years. In addition he was responsible for the membership at Barrow shipyard and has taken a keen interest in the Nuclear Industry.

Kevin, was formerly regional secretary for the North West and during that time built links with many energy and utilities companies. One principal concern is retaining and developing skills and apprenticeships for the future.

Dan Holland BSc

Managing Director Utilities & Defence

Dan is a native of Stoke-on-Trent and studied at Staffordshire University. Having qualified as a quantity surveyor, he began his career in the construction sector.

In 1995, he joined Enterprise (formerly ARM Utility Services) as a trainee site agent on telecoms contracts. By 2003, Dan had progressed to the position of Regional Director, and in 2006, was appointed Managing Director of the Utilities Division, covering all of Enterprise's contracts in the UK, Ireland and Energy Management.

Sarah Hopkins

Head of Human Resources, Wales & West Utilities

Sarah is the Head of HR for Wales & West Utilities, the Gas Distribution Network covering Wales and the South West of England. She has worked in the Gas Industry for 11 years in a variety of HR roles following graduating from Aston University with a degree in Business Management. Sarah has a Masters degree in Personnel & Development from Plymouth University and is a member of both the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Professor Alison Halstead

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching Innovation, Aston University

Alison Halstead gained a Physics degree and Materials Engineering PhD at Imperial College. Her early career was with Tube Investments and she has held academic posts at Brunel University, Coventry University, the Open University and the University of Wolverhampton, before taking up her current post as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching Innovation at Aston University. In 2005 she received a National Teaching Fellowship for her innovative curriculum development and in 2008 she became one of the first Senior Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. At Aston she is responsible for quality and standards of all programmes, the student learning experience and widening participation. She is also leading the development of the 'Aston University Engineering Academy', one of the first University Technical Colleges in the UK. She is an elected fellow on the Academic Council of the Higher Education, a member of the Foundation Degree Forward Board, a Board member of the OCN West Midlands and the Director of the Aston University Engineering Academy Board Trust.

Chris J Murray

BA (Hons), FIE, CIGEM, MIOD
CEO, xoserve

Chris Murray started his career in the energy industry at East Midlands Gas where he spent twelve years working predominantly in Sales and Marketing but also in IT, Personnel and Training. In 1989, he moved to British Gas Southern as Area Manager for Dorset and Bournemouth prior to joining Global Gas in 1992 as Development Manager for UK Power Generation.

He created and became General Manager of Accord Energy, originally as an independent second tier electricity supply business, running that business until 1995 when he was appointed as Chief Executive Officer for the gas business in Northern Ireland where he led the creation of and launched Phoenix Natural Gas.

He remained as CEO of Phoenix until delivery of first "gas on gas" competition and returned to GB in May 2000 as Transco's Asset General Manager for the North West of England. In January 2002, he was appointed Network Director for the West Midlands before moving on to become Commercial Director, UK Transmission, for the merged National Grid Transco Group in July 2003. In this role he was responsible (for both gas and electricity) for the creation and maintenance of Commercial Frameworks, Charging and Forecasting, Customer Agreements, British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements (BETTA), and European Policy.

In June 2005, Chris was appointed as Network Operations Director, UK Transmission, where he was responsible for the real time operation of National Grid's gas and electricity transmission networks in the UK, forward energy trading and balancing services, operational forecasting, planning and policy.

On 1 February 2007, he moved to the role of Director of Asset Management where he lead a team of 2,200 managers and staff responsible for the gas and electricity transmission asset lifecycles - from the point that the need for a new asset is identified to the point where assets are removed from the network.

In July 2009 Chris was appointed as Director - UK Transmission with a specific remit to define the Transmission route map to 2020 given the need to transition to a low carbon economy.

With effect from 1 May 2010 Chris took up his current post as Chief Executive Officer of xoserve Limited.

Chris is a Board Member of the Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) and Chairman of the Energy Generation and Supply Knowledge Transfer Network (EG&S KTN). He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute, Companion, Council Member and past Midlands Section Chairman of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM) and a Member of the Institute of Directors (IoD). Chris has also been a Board Member of National Grid Gas, the Energy Networks Association (ENA), Chairman of the ENA Engineering Committee, Chairman of the Energy Emergency Executive Committee, a member of the Executive of both the National Joint Utilities Group (NJUG) and the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC), a Director of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, and Council member of both the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Northern Ireland and CBI North West.

Dave Newborough, MSc, FCIPD

HR Director, European CCGT and E.ON Global Units UK Operations

Dave is a Member of the E.ON's UKHR Executive Team providing leadership support to the international units operating within the UK whilst being a Board member of the European CCGT business. In addition to carrying functional responsibility for Employee Relations, the role embraces HR support for E.ON's Gas Generation fleet comprising 40 sites across 10 countries; the UK's Generation fleet comprising assets in coal, gas, CHP and Climate & Renewables; Business Support Services and overseeing the HR aspects of our Nuclear joint venture.

Dave is married with two sons. Having originally studied Business Studies, he is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development having graduated in 1985 from Nottingham Trent University. He completed his Masters in Strategic HR Management at Nottingham Business School receiving a commendation and being awarded the Student of the Year prize for his dissertation on skills challenges facing the power sector.

Having spent his career within the industry in a range of HR roles across the value chain, he also spent a period as an ex-patriate at E.ON's headquarters in Dusseldorf helping establish the E.ON Learning & Development Academy for executives and senior managers.

He is currently Chair of the National Skills Academy for Power and a Board member of the Energy & Utility Skills.

Dave is a keen sportsman on both a playing and armchair basis. His favourite sports include soccer, rugby and golf.

David Sargent

Managing Director, LondonWaste Limited

David is a chartered accountant with experience of working in both the public and private sectors. After holding senior positions in the printing and retail sectors, he moved on to senior director positions within the waste and engineering industries. Since 1999 he has been the Managing Director of London Waste Limited, a waste management company which is owned by the North London Waste Authority and which handles about a quarter of London's municipal waste.

Since his appointment as Managing Director of LondonWaste, he has sought to not only develop the company profitably and effectively in a competitive environment but also evolve the company's philosophy from waste management to resource management. Successful projects have included the development of the company's main site as a 40 acre EcoPark where new green facilities such as recycling, compost production, wood chipping, etc. have been introduced to operate alongside the company's traditional waste facilities, including energy from waste. The aim of the project has been to maximise the EcoPark's self-sufficiency and to target zero waste to landfill. Plans for the introduction of anaerobic digestion of food waste and the use of the adjacent canal for water transport are now included in the Waste Authority's outline future plans for the EcoPark.

At an industry level, David has been a Member of the Environmental Services Association's Executive Committee and was a former Chair of its Renewable Energy Committee. As a keen advocate of developing the green economy and its potential for growth in new jobs, he was delighted to be appointed as a waste industry representative on the Board of Energy and Utility Skills.

Angela Williams

HR Director, British Gas

Angela Williams is Human Resources Director for British Gas (part of the Centrica Group PLC - a FTSE 30) the UK's leading supplier of energy and energy services to over 14m homes and businesses and employing 28,000 people. Reporting directly to the Managing Director of British Gas, and as part of the Executive Committee, Angela leads the HR team offering a service across all areas of the company including Energy, Services, New Energy and British Gas Business, with a balance of unionised and non unionised teams across the UK, India and South Africa.

Before assuming this role Angela spent five years as Group Human Resources Director for the Land Securities Group plc, the UK's leading property investment and development company (a FTSE 50 Company), where she worked as a strategic partner with the Group Board and led a team offering a service across all areas of the Group, including its retail development, shopping centre and London office portfolios.

Previously Angela was European HR Director for Electronic Arts Ltd responsible for providing a fully integrated pan-European business focused HR service across 16 countries. Prior to this Angela worked as VP of HR and Organisational Development for the successful pan-European dot.com QXL Ricardo plc, and has held roles as European HR and Training Manager for the Walt Disney Company Ltd; Training and Development Manager for B.H. Blackwell Ltd in Oxford and New York , and HR Executive with Esso Petroleum Co. Ltd (Now ExxonMobil).

Angela graduated from Reading University with a degree in Music with Politics and International Relations, as well as a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Institute of Directors (IoD).

Tony Wray

Chief Executive, Severn Trent Water

Although running Severn Trent is the first water industry role for Tony Wray, he is a utilities man through and through. Starting his career as a graduate trainee with East Midlands Gas back in 1983 when it was part of British Gas, he rose to become Director of Assets and the National Operations Manager at Transco.

While in the gas industry he ran IT, billing, metering and emergency services departments and handled the integration of Lattice with National Grid to form National Grid Transco.

For two years before joining Severn Trent, Tony Wray was Director of Networks at Eircom.