Our 2019 judges

All award entries will be put through a rigorous two-stage judging process, reviewed by our panel of independent experts.

Stage one:

All entries are reviewed and scored against the criteria by our independent panel of industry experts

Stage two:

Our judges, chaired by Jane Gray, Content Director, Utility Week will come together for an all-day judging session where the top entries will be put forward for further discussion and debate. The panel will select a shortlist and a final winner.

Jane Gray
Content Director
Utility Week

Jane joined Utility Week in 2014. In a variety of roles, she has supported the development of news and features for water and energy readers and she now leads the magazine’s premium content agenda. In 2015, Jane also led the launch of Utility Week’s sister title Network. Before joining Utility Week, Jane was editor of The Manufacturer magazine, an engineering and manufacturing title.

Nick Ellins
Chief Executive
Energy & Utility Skills

Nick Ellins took over leadership of the Energy & Utility Skills Group in October 2015. He has over 30 years’ experience in the utilities and rail industries, working in a variety of management roles across commercial, operational, and UK and European policy areas. His previous roles include Deputy Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water, Head of Consumer Strategy at Water UK, senior management roles in contracting and manufacturing, Director of Policy for the Rail Delivery Group strategy body and Director of Policy for the Association of Train Operating Companies. Nick is one of the industry leaders working through the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership to ensure a safe, resilient and sustainable workforce across the sector. Nick is a Freeman of the City of London, a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, an ambassador for Design & Technology and a Non-Executive Director of the Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards

Laura Sandys
Chief Executive
Challenging Ideas

Laura Sandys runs the 21st Century Energy Regulatory Commission with Imperial College and is Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency. She is on the CCUS Council and Taskforce as well as having served as a member of the Advisory Panel for the Government’s Cost of Energy Review. She is co-founder of POWERful Women, a Visiting Senior Fellow at Kings College and a Fellow of the Energy Institute. She was previously a Member of Parliament for South Thanet and was a member of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister for Energy and Climate Change

Steve Johnson
Director
Infracapital

Steve is an Independent Chairman and Advisor with over 35 years’ experience in the utility, infrastructure and support services sectors. His executive career includes CEO of Electricity North West, MD of Morrison plc, the contracting and support services group and executive roles within the water sector. Steve now Chairs a number of boards in the UK and Europe for PE investors and is an Advisory Board member for the Water Industry Commission for Scotland. He was awarded a MBE in 2016 for services to energy networks and was recognised as Utility Champion of the year at the 2016 UW awards.

Maxine Frerk
Director
Grid Edge Policy

Maxine is Director of Grid Edge Policy working as a thought leader and consultant on the challenges around decarbonisation of the energy system from a consumer and regulatory perspective. Maxine previously worked at Ofgem where she had a number of roles including most recently as Senior Partner Networks where she oversaw the RIIO ED1 price control decision as well as the launch of Ofgem’s work on flexibility and the future of gas. Prior to joining Ofgem she was at BT as Head of Regulation.

Simon Harrison
Director
Mott MacDonald

Simon Harrison is a director with responsibility for strategic development at global engineering, management and development consultant Mott MacDonald, and takes a strong interest in strategic change in markets, technologies and end user expectations. He also chairs the IET’s Energy Policy Panel and leads its Future Power Systems Architecture Project activity, which has been supporting the government in developing an underlying engineering strategy for the future decarbonised electricity system in GB. An electrical engineer, Simon has played a key role in developing Mott MacDonald’s renewable, thermal and nuclear power businesses, including opening a number of new geographic and sector markets. He also has an interest in energy policy, and has directed a number of key studies in the UK. During his career Simon has played key roles in the development and financing of numerous privately financed infrastructure projects in sectors including power, water, transport, telecommunications and the built environment, in most corners of the world. He has taken a leading role in many privately financed infrastructure projects around the world as well as privatisations and acquisitions. Prior to this he undertook planning of major electricity transmission and distribution systems. He is a Fellow and Vice President of the IET and a Fellow of the RSA and the Energy Institute

Tony Smith
Chief Executive
Consumer Council for Water

Tony joined the Consumer Council for Water in December 2005 as Chief Executive. Under Tony’s leadership, CCWater has successfully prompted a transformation in regulation and price setting in the water sector, getting companies and regulators focused firmly on customers and value for money. It has also encouraged water companies to produce a 60% reduction in complaints. His early career was in strategy and marketing, implementing business turnarounds in oil, aerospace, automotive and fast moving consumer goods businesses. Later Tony joined the utility sector where he has worked at senior level in electricity and as a director in the water industry and the rail sector. During his career in the utilities, he has led strategy, customer service and communication, delivery of investment programmes and gearing up for new competitive markets. His last job was with the water regulator Ofwat, as Director of Competition and Consumer Affairs, where he was responsible for consumer issues in the lead up to and through the 2004 price review

Ashleye Gunn
Independent Consumer
Policy Consultant

Ashleye is an independent consumer policy consultant specialising in competition, customer satisfaction and stakeholder engagement in regulated markets. She has over 25 years experience developing policy solutions grounded in consumer behaviour across sectors including energy and financial services. She has been a panel member for Ofgem's Stakeholder Engagement & Consumer Vulnerability incentive for network companies since 2015. As Policy Progamme Director at Which? her influential investigations included several super complaints and the ‘Imbalance of Power’ reports examining consumer detriment across the energy sector. Prior to Which? she had an award-winning career as an advertising strategist.

Mike Foster
Chief Executive
Energy and Utilities Alliance

Mike Foster is CEO of Energy and Utilities Alliance, a not-for-profit trade association based in the West Midlands. He holds a degree in economics, a post-graduate certificate in education and is a Chartered Management Accountant. Having started work in the car industry, he taught accountancy, economics and statistics for six years before becoming MP for Worcester (1997-2010). He served as a Minister for four years, under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, latterly as Minister for International Development. Before heading up EUA, he was Head of Communications at the international charity WaterAid. He is the non-executive Chairman of Affordable Warmth Solutions, a community interest company that delivers fuel poverty solutions across the UK.

Tony Conway
Director
Conway Strategic Water Consulting

Tony is a former Executive Director of United Utilities, a water utility serving seven million customers in the north west of England. In a career of over thirty years he has led Asset Management, Operations and Engineering functions, as well as business change, transformation and regulatory programmes. As Strategic Programmes Director, with the informal title of “Director of Curiosity”, he focused on identifying world leading water utility innovation, engaging with innovation hubs around the globe. Retiring from United Utilities in 2015, Tony is a Visiting Professor at the University of Sheffield where he chairs the Leadership Board of the Twenty65 Water Research Programme. Twenty65 aims to enable a future that is inspired by collaborative research which accelerates innovation, and delivers solutions that positively impact public health, the environment, the economy and society. His personal areas of research focus include the digitally enabled, innovative, optimised water utility, and systems thinking in the water sector. He is a Director of the Water Industry Forum, a Director of British Water and a member of UK Water Partnerships Commercial Exploitation Group. Tony provides strategic consultancy advice working across the water sector nationally and internationally, and coaches executives in the leadership of change.

Philip New
Chief Executive Officer
Energy Systems Catapult

Before joining the Catapult Philip worked for BP for over 30 years in a range of commercial and general management positions, mostly in customer-facing businesses, operating in Asia, North and South America, and Europe. He started working in the cleantech sector in 2002, initially building BP’s portfolio of Biofuels businesses and technologies, latterly becoming CEO of BP Alternative Energy, during which time he wrestled with, and became fascinated by, the dynamics of the interplay of markets, technology and policy created by the emergence of new energy sources and uses, and the opportunities to create new businesses. Philip is a Commissioner at the global Energy Transitions Commission, a member of the Global Futures Council on Energy at the World Economic Forum, and a non executive director of FRV. He has an MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University, and lives in Oxford with his wife. His three children are now at University.

Stuart Brand
Vice President, Water & Market Services
CGI IT UK

Stuart leads CGI’s activity in the UK Water sector, and for clients who provide central market services to electricity and water companies. He has 25 years’ experience working with Utilities, helping them respond to market and regulatory change. In his role, he works with new and existing clients, and owns the development and execution of CGI’s strategy for the sector. He began his career as an application developer, and subsequently held a wide range of roles across many aspects of programme and service delivery. Over his career, he has worked within and alongside numerous teams, giving him a perspective on the characteristics that make a team truly great.

Musidora Jorgensen
Regional Vice President,
Energy & Utilities
Salesforce

Musidora is Regional Vice President leading the Energy & Utilities markets for Salesforce within the UK. This sees her working with customers to digitally transform their businesses and gain greater insights into their own customers. She has been selling and leading teams within the IT industry for over 20 years, both within the UK Enterprise Private and Public sectors. Musidora is passionate about supporting more women in the STEM industries and is an active mentor, coach and sponsor for women in sales. She won the Best Sales Mentor category at the EMEA Women in Sales Awards 2018.

James Lally
Vice President
Capgemini Invent

James is a Vice President at Capgemini Invent, Capgemini’s consulting, digital innovation and transformation global business line. Working in the Energy and Utilities practice in the UK, James works with clients to design new strategies and business models for this rapidly changing industry, and then leads client and consulting teams to deliver the resulting restructuring and transformation programmes. James brings 20 years’ experience from industry and consulting. Prior to Capgemini, he worked at Network Rail where he led teams in strategy, regulation and the track renewals business.

Stage one:

Stage two:

Our judges, chaired by Jane Gray, Content Director, Utility Week will come together for an all-day judging session where the top entries will be put forward for further discussion and debate. The panel will select a shortlist and a final winner.

What's impressed our judges in the past?

The Utility Week Awards in 3 words!