ElectraLink has appointed Jonathan Purdy as chairperson, following the news Kevin Lee is to retire last week (22 April).
Purdy is currently income compliance manager at UK Power Networks, one of the six distribution network operator shareholders in ElectraLink. He has served as non-executive director on the ElectraLink Board for the past seven years, helping facilitate the expansion of the company’s regulated and commercial services.
“My tenure on the ElectraLink Board has been interesting and dynamic so far,” said Purdy. “Things never stop changing in the energy market and ElectraLink’s position as a central provider of solutions across metering, governance, data transfer and analysis, market monitoring and change management means we are in the thick of transformation.”
His first priorities going forwards will be to continue to add value throughout the markets while keeping costs low for energy users, and maintain a focus on net zero innovation.
Lee retired after serving on the Board of ElectraLink since its inception in 1997, working to transform the data transfer business alongside the energy transition.
He said he was “sincerely grateful” for the support of the ElectraLink staff during his tenure, and lamented the inability to thank them in person as he stepped down due to COVID-19, adding that “I shall, of course, never lose my interest in the industry and will still be cheering ElectraLink and its people on from the side-lines”.
Additionally, technology consultant Paul Geddes is stepping down from the ElectraLink Board after seven years, and three new members – Tracy Pitcher, Nigel Bessant and Paul Bircham – have been appointed.
Pitcher is currently national systems manager at Western Power Distribution, Bessant is head of network trading at Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks and Bircham is regulation and communications director at Electricity North West.
The reshuffle follows news at the beginning of April that ElectraLink’s CEO Stuart Lacey had stepped down following ten years at the company to pursue “a new challenge”. Currently, Dan Hopkinson, who is the company’s director of data and transformation services, is acting CEO.
