Claire is our Policy and Practice Manager. She leads our policy work on flexible and new ways of working and resourcing and talent management. Claire also works in the area of equality, diversity and inclusion and leads policy work on carers, working parents and compassionate bereavement support. She also works with colleagues on menopause and menstrual health workplace policy support.

Previously, Claire ran her own research and consultancy organisation and was acting head of research and principal researcher at Roffey Park. Claire has worked on several international projects, is the author of a range of reports, has responded to numerous Government consultations and has given evidence at a range of parliamentary groups and committees.

Gary Ford is a transformational IT and Diversity & Inclusion leader.  As a former Managing Director within Global Technology at JPMorgan, he co-founded their male allies programme for women in technology.

His Amazon best-selling book “The Accidental Sexist:  A handbook for men on workplace diversity and inclusion” tells the story of how to change the culture in a traditional male-centric sector and how we can all build inclusive work practices.

Alongside Mark Freed, he is the co-founder of Men for Inclusion, an organisation that works with companies across multiple sectors to help them engage men in diversity and inclusion efforts and create an all-gender narrative to deliver an inclusive culture that leads to real improvements in business performance

He has presented at multiple diversity conferences, as well as appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour to talk about allyship.  He recently presented at the UN Women’s conference on Gender Equality in Seoul. 

Gary lives with his wife, Julie in Fulham in London.  They have 2 children, Isabella who is a Public Relations Associate for Strand Partners, and Lily, who is the UK correspondent of the Hollywood Reporter.

committees.

Gabrielle Mandell 

Chief Executive, Institute of Water 

Gabrielle joined the Institute of Water in 2022, having worked for almost 30 years in the non-profit sector, in staff and volunteer roles. 

Born and bred in multicultural Toronto, Gabrielle went to a French school and then went on to study history and languages at University, followed by Law School. An adoptive Geordie, Gabrielle came to the UK in 2000 to work with an international charity dedicated to educating and inspiring for peace through building inter-cultural friendship, cooperation, and understanding. 

Empowering organisations and their people is a passion for her and she also serves on a number of volunteer boards. She is proud to bring that passion to a sector that has the privilege of caring for the world’s most precious resource. 

Kieran Williams joined SmartestEnergy in 2017 as a Smart Metering Analyst. Since then, he has progressed through various roles across the business, from commercial to his current position as a Sales Enablement Executive in 2024. In this role, he is responsible for documenting and optimising sales processes, resolving problems and collaborating with stakeholders at all levels to drive efficiencies.

Beyond his core responsibilities, Kieran is committed to fostering an inclusive workplace culture. As a founding member and now chairman of SmartestEnergy’s SmartestBalance initiative, he is actively involved in several community groups, including Diverse Races and Cultures, Diverse Sexualities and Genders, and Neurodiverse Abilities, and his ongoing dedication to making meaningful change has been recognised through multiple internal wellness and allyship awards.

Lawrence is Chief Executive of ENA. He joined the organisation in February 2023.

He 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, becoming its Chief Executive in January 2015. Additionally, he served on the boards of Eurogas and Eurelectric in Brussels.

He has been involved in the energy industry since the late 1990s, working in countries all over the world.

Lawrence is a Board member of Connected Kerb, and a Board Trustee of the St Clare Hospice. He is also a Fellow of the Energy Institute.

Being a Manager Shouldn’t Be Sh*t.

I grew my career within the Energy and FMCG sectors, enjoying several management positions in iconic brands across a range of departments including customer services, process improvement, contract management, sales and finance. A promotion into a senior middle management role in 2014 triggered imposter syndrome which motivated me to employ a personal coach. Coaching reconnected me with my confidence, self-belief, and value, and this strengthened relationship with myself enabled me to progress my career into areas I would not have felt capable of attempting prior to my experience. It is this power that I’m on a mission to share with as many managers and leaders as I can in my own coaching practise as The Middle Manager Coach which I have been growing since 2020. Being a manager shouldn’t be shit. I work with managers, leaders, and their businesses using coaching and training to ensure that it isn’t. I ensure that individuals have the knowledge and awareness to embrace their roles with energy and enjoyment, connect with their confidence and capabilities, and take control of their development and growth, to ensure that they thrive for themselves, their teams, and their businesses. Because when we enjoy what we do, we do a great job. It’s that simple. I help individuals and organisations to make effective and healthy management a reality for themselves, their people, and their business, by providing 1-2-1 coaching and training for their managers and teams. In the past four years I have had the privilege of working with leaders and their teams across a variety of incredible businesses including Burberry, Swarovski, BUPA, Volkswagen, HSBC, and Suntory, and I continue to passionately support the Energy sector with my work as an Associate for the Women’s Utilities Network (WUN).

After being part of CCW’s Executive Team as Senior Director of Policy, Research and Campaigns for six years, Mike Keil is now Chief Executive.

A physicist by training, Mike spent the first decade of his career at the Met Office working with weather and climate models. He led its middle atmosphere research group.

In 2007, he joined Ofwat as their Head of Climate Change and wrote their first policy statement on the topic. Mike oversaw the introduction of annual carbon accounting in the water sector and the inclusion of the cost of carbon into business cases as part of the regulatory framework.

Mike moved to Severn Trent Water in 2011, leading their work on climate change and resilience. During this time he wrote the business case for the £350m Birmingham Resilience Project.

Mike has been at CCW since 2017, leading their policy work, water company challenge and their extensive research programme. He oversaw CCW’s campaign work, including their Review of Water Affordability; the End Sewer Flooding Misery campaign and the Five Year Review of the Business Retail Market. 

Mike is also one of the hosts of CCW’s Waterfall podcast, which was launched during the 2022 drought to help people understand the value of water and how they can use it more wisely.

Olu started her career in the Water industry working for Laing O’Rourke on Thames Water’s Victorian Mains Replacement Programme before moving to South East Water. Olu spent 10 years with South East Water doing various roles of which the last 4 years were spent delivering the flagship Compulsory Metering Programme in which more than 90 percent of South East Water’s domestic customers had a water meter fitted.

Olu joined UK Water Industry Research in 2019 as a Strategic Programme Manager overseeing the delivery of 5 key water industry’s research themes.

Olu holds an MSc qualification in Project Management, Finance, and Risk from City University, London

Katie is our Press Officer at Energy UK. With a passion for clear communication and impactful storytelling, she plays a key role in shaping and delivering the organisation’s media strategy. Beyond their press work, Katie leads Energy UK’s efforts in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), driving initiatives that promote a more inclusive and representative industry. Their commitment to fostering diversity ensures that Energy UK remains at the forefront of industry-wide progress.  

Sarah is an experienced senior HR professional with 25 years’ experience in utilities, operating as People & Engagement Director at Wales & West Utilities for 13 years. She has subsequently set up her own consulting company, Pathways People Solutions, which supports organisations with their people strategy, leadership development programmes, culture development, and coaching.

Sarah is a Board member and mentor of the Womens Utilities Network and a Trustee of the Cardiff Rugby Community Foundation

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 the UK, Technical and International forums. The Water Industry Forum provides challenge-led, independent thought leadership, to tackle the challenges facing the sector.   Lila was formerly responsible for British Water’s international services and lead business development visits to a range of markets including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Morocco, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China and India. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors. 

Juliet Summers - Director of Inner Talent Ltd 

Juliet has an accomplished corporate career in the retail and utility industries and brings her experience and insight in HR, talent management and leadership.  She is a talent management expert, having led talent departments, strategy and teams alongside coaching, mentoring and supporting the development, progression and career transition of many individuals.  Throughout her career, she has had a passion for spotting and developing talent. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) and International Coach Federation (ICF) ACC accredited coach amongst other credentials. She is highly skilled in bringing out the talent in people and coaching across the talent pipeline, especially supporting women throughout their careers.  Her mission is empowering women to have a fulfilling career and life and she is a Women’s Utility Network (WUN) Mentor and Associate.  When she’s not coaching or facilitating workshops, you’ll find her raising two boys and running which is one of her other passions! 

Karen has been the Programme Development Manager at WUN since June 2024. Prior to this, she has had a successful 20-year career in the energy industry where she accumulated a variety of experience in roles ranging from analysis, trading and optimising nuclear, gas and coal power plants, supporting governance arrangements and developing, initialising and delivering a large number of projects across different business areas. As a working mum, often in a very male dominated environment, Karen has benefited from the support of networks such as WUN.

As part of her role, Karen monitors the governance and process arrangements at WUN to ensure they grow with the network as well as developing future plans and new initiatives alongside the amazing advocates and board members.

Karen is really passionate about WUN’s mission and supporting women to build fulfilling careers in the sector, particularly driven by balancing her own career alongside motherhood, having two teenage daughters of her own. She enjoys being able to combine her energy, enthusiasm and knowledge of the sector in order to support WUN's growth.

Lesley is a people development professional based in Wales, with over 30 years' experience spanning the private, public, and not for profit sectors, including local government, manufacturing, hospitality, higher education, scientific consultancy, professional services, transport and logistics, housing, telecoms, retail, charity and childcare, as well as working with individuals – both employees and employers.

Her latest in-house role was with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the membership body for people professionals, where she spent ten years as Head of the CIPD in Wales, developing, implementing, and growing the organisation’s presence in Wales and for Wales.

In 2024, Lesley handed back the baton and returned to focus on her own business, Lesley Richards Limited (established in 1996), working with existing and new clients, and extending her offer to include C-suite support and specialist networking.  She has also launched a new network, HR in Wales, to deliver larger events including awards and conferences.

Highlights of Lesley’s career include managing recruitment for a £80m manufacturing investment, strategic consultancy on the restructuring of a public service organisation, managing the integration and harmonisation of staff during multiple acquisitions, and, of course, having the privilege of leading her own professional membership body in Wales!

Debbie’s passion is to support people and organisations be the best they can be.  With a career spanning 30 years in the energy industry, Debbie currently works as Director of Utility Networks for the Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), a not-for-profit trade association that provides a leading industry voice to help shape the future policy direction within the sector.  Prior to EUA, Debbie has held numerous senior leadership positions within Transco, National Grid and Cadent including operational, strategic and stakeholder engagement roles and running the National gas emergency service for the UK and Northern Ireland 

I am an ICF Professional Certified Coach with over 3600 coaching hours and 20 years experience of leadership coaching and culture change. I have supported well known global brands to create more inclusive cultures, and develop and retain their key talent. I have worked in a wide range of sectors from advertising and media, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, power & utilities and financial services.

Phil joined Energy & Utility Skills in September 2020, bringing with him a breadth of experience in the regulatory and education sector. In his previous role as Executive Director for Vocational and Technical Qualifications at regulator Ofqual, Phil led the reforms for all vocational and technical qualifications, assessments and apprenticeships and was instrumental in developing T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications. Having worked closely with Government, key stakeholders and employers, Phil has a solid understanding in the development of end-point assessments. 

Before joining Ofqual, Phil served in the Royal Air Force for 30 years, with much of his career focused on command, leadership, strategy, policy and capability. Phil received an MBE in the 2000 New Year’s Honours List, a Queen’s Commendation in 2004 and his CBE in 2014. 

A leader and manager with significant experience working in the gas industry. Delivered major organisational change leading to efficient operational results and industry leading safety performance. A Chartered Member of both the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. A Director of the Gas Industry Safety Group and sits on a wide variety of IGEM Committees and Working Groups. An excellent understanding of the legislative framework with proven technical, safety and leadership skills in managing and influencing teams in both operational and customer focused environments.