OVO has appointed Raman Bhatia as the new CEO of its retail business, taking over from Adrian Letts.
Bhatia has been chief operating officer (COO) of the company since January 2020 and led the integration of SSE Energy Services following its acquisition, as well as the transition of customers onto the Kaluza platform.
Prior to this, Bhatia was head of digital bank for HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management in the UK and Europe.
“I’d like to thank Adrian for his contribution and leadership during the last three years. Adrian has navigated OVO through the integration of SSE, the pandemic, and more recently through energy market challenges. We wish him the very best for the future,” said Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder of OVO.
“Raman is incredibly well qualified to take OVO through the next phase of growth, having driven the transformation of the retail business over the last two years with great success. He is passionate about customer experience, decarbonisation and creating a great place to work and I cannot think of a better person for this role.”
Joe Gordon, who is currently OVO’s VP of customer care is taking over as COO. He previously worked as the CEO of First Direct Bank.
The management reshuffle follows OVO Energy software arm Kaluza unveiling three new hires within its leadership teams in the US and UK at the beginning of February, as it looks to ramp up its international commercialisation.
In January, reports emerged that OVO Energy is to cut a quarter of its 6,200-strong workforce amid the continued volatility in the energy supply market. In May 2020, OVO Energy announced 2,600 redundancies as a result of the combination of the impact of COVID-19 alongside its integration of SSE Energy Services.
Bhatia will take over from 1 March 2022.