Rising Star of the Year - Non-utility
Celebrating the achievements of emerging talent within the utilities supply chain over the past year. Open to anyone who has been active in the sector for seven years or less.
Rising Star of the Year Award
Celebrating the achievements of emerging talent within the utilities sector over the past year. Open to employees of utilities who have been active in the sector for seven years or less.
Amy Witts - OCU Group
Amy Witts is a 3rd Year Quantity Surveying Degree Apprentice at OCU Group, working on various projects and tasks which has enabled her to gain experience on a wide range of Utilities commercial works and experiences. She is seen as a future leader within the OCU Group, consistently working outside her comfort zone for the age of her career.
OCU are immensely proud of Amy and the journey that she has come on so far, both as an individual, her contribution to the organisation and also he passion for promoting the Utilities sector through various activities
Christopher Cox-Jones - Firstsource
Firstsource, a global CX digital-forward business process solutions company, has partnered with E.ON since 2018 in its transformation to E.ON Next. E.ON scaled its workforce tenfold while maintaining performance.
To enable this, Chris Cox-Jones introduced a customer-first execution framework, aligning coaching, performance management, and operations around measurable outcomes. His strategic insight and leadership delivered transformative results: the account's first green scorecard, employee satisfaction rising seven points to the UK's highest, NPS improving from -40 to -2, CHI from 74% to 81%, and Ability To Pay (ATP) from 40% to 83%. Chris exemplifies scalable excellence across people, customers, and performance.
George Stockdale - Clancy
Over the past 12 months, George Stockdale, has delivered sector-leading innovations that are directly supporting the UK’s energy transition. In 2024/25, George authored and launched Clancy’s Low Carbon Concrete Protocol, saving over 228,000kgCO2e in its first year. He also led the rollout of version three of Clancy’s Carbon Tracker, giving clients UKPN and SSE precise visibility of carbon costs in procurement and project delivery.
These initiatives not only strengthen client partnerships but also help deliver more cost-efficient, low-carbon utilities for communities. Recognised with the Directors Award in 2023 and Project of Year award in 2024 for his work in carbon.
Jack Lonsdale - Stantec
Over the last year, Jack has made a transformational impact within Stantec in his role of Geospatial Discipline Lead and National STEM Manager. Progressing rapidly in his 6-year career, Jack consistently shows passion, driving innovation and inspiring those around him. He has elevated Stantec’s national geospatial discipline, with a clear focus on technical excellence, culture, and cross-discipline and client integration.
Through visible, people-first leadership, and relentless drive to learn, Jack is helping to embed geospatial intelligence across the regulated water sector. His commitment to the next generation of professionals is evident through his leadership of Stantec’s national school engagement programme.
Lacy Martin - Sirio
Lacy has become an influential emerging professional in the utilities sector through her work as a consultant to the energy networks. In 2025 alone, she has consulted on over 10 complex, industry-leading projects valued at over £1 million, spanning consumer vulnerability, decarbonisation, and industrial growth.
Her initiative and creative solutions have not only directly improved support services for vulnerable customers but have also promoted broader government objectives such as facilitating inward investment to the UK, retaining large-scale manufacturing operations, facilitating decarbonisation pathways, and stimulating green job creation. Lacy is exceeding the expectations of someone at this stage in their career.
Nell Clerkin - United Infrastructure
In her first year as Bid Manager for Water at United Infrastructure (UI), Nell Clerkin has been instrumental in driving rapid growth. Within 18 months, UI Water has expanded from £32m turnover with one major client to eight long-term frameworks, with turnover forecast at £100m.
Nell has delivered over £500m in pipeline value, generating £8m in additional revenue and securing landmark wins including a 100% technical score on the Wessex Water 8-year framework worth £48m. Balancing 60+ high-value bids whilst acting as a mentor for her teammates and completing a master’s degree, Nell exemplifies commercial acumen, leadership, and sustained excellence.
Scott Clayton - WGM Engineering
Scott is a rising star who has combined deep technical rigour with mature leadership delivering stepchange value for WGM over the past year. As Design Lead and Lead Engineer on Scottish Water Shieldhall STW, WGM’s largest live project. Scott developed complex, multi-disciplinary design packages, maintained budgetary control and consistently met demanding expectations.
He pioneered WGM’s first end-to-end Scraper Bridge designs, from concept and calculations through to full O&M documentation and introduced supplier validated innovations for Scum removal in Primary Settlement Tanks (PSTs). Scott’s work has unlocked new inhouse capability, enabling WGM to design, fabricate and deliver innovative Scraper Bridge solutions.