Business Champion (utility)

This award recognises and honours an exceptional woman whose work exemplifies dedication, excellence, and impact in the utilities sector's backoffice functions.

The contenders

Beth Venis

AWIN

Beth is a highly influential leader whose work has been fundamental to AWIN’s rapid growth and reputation in the water sector. Over the past two years, she has led her team to a 100% Ofwat licence success rate across more than 130 licences, expanded AWIN’s client base from one to 16, and grown developer relationships from 45 to 150. She leads the implementation of 100% AMI smart metering across all live sites (>70), setting a new industry standard. Beth also represents AWIN on the INA Water Subcommittee and actively mentors women across the sector, championing progression and visibility.

Beth Wilks

NESO

As strategy and engagement manager in NESO’s Balancing Programme, Beth Wilks has transformed how the programme partners with industry, turning stakeholder input into measurable, strategic outcomes. In 2025, Beth designed and delivered a new engagement model that fundamentally reshaped industry collaboration. This included 11 tailored events reaching 460 representatives across 190 organisations, a 206% increase in reach, alongside 60+ individual customer meetings, resulting in an Ofgem assessment that exceeded expectations for engagement. Beth’s approach sets a new benchmark for collaborative, data‑driven, inclusive engagement, demonstrating exceptional leadership and impact across NESO and the wider industry.

Ellen Bates

SGN

Ellen Bates, head of SGN’s Operational Control Centre (OCC), leads the 24/7 operation responsible for dispatching gas emergency response teams across southern England and Scotland. Having progressed through every level of the OCC over a 19-year career, Ellen combines operational expertise with exemplary leadership. She oversees around 110 staff and manages critical relationships with national partners to ensure SGN meets regulatory emergency response targets. In a high-pressure environment where performance directly affects public safety, Ellen has become a trusted leader, respected by frontline teams and executives alike. Her professionalism, integrity and vision make her a true champion of operational excellence.

Emma Wright

SGN

Emma-Jane Wright leads SGN’s risk, audit, assurance and compliance team. Emma has worked in utilities (and for SGN) for 20 years in a diverse range of business roles and has used this understanding of the industry and business to transform SGN’s risk, audit and compliance functions. Emma’s expertise and innovation in the compliance sphere is matched by her dedication to supporting women in the sector, spearheading SGN’s ‘Speak Up’ initiative and mentoring female colleagues.

Hannah Cook

South Staffordshire

Hannah Cook is a standout business champion whose leadership has delivered sustained, organisation‑wide impact by combining commercial rigour with a deep commitment to inclusion and wellbeing. As an HR leader, she's transformed shared services, strengthened manager capability, and embedded scalable, efficient ways of working while ensuring people experience remains front and centre. Through the creation of colleague‑led networks, mental health support and practical policy change, Hannah's driven tangible improvements for over 2,600 colleagues. Trusted for her clarity, pragmatism and ability to turn ambition into action, Hannah’s work has strengthened culture, capability and performance, making her a credible sector role model.

Jemma Konuralp

Eclipse Power

A former Paralympian, Jemma is a land rights associate with resilience, a proactive mindset, and endless energy, which has led to her successfully managing a portfolio of more than 600 sites since joining Eclipse in 2024.

Jess Johnson

Centrica

Jess Johnson is an exceptional business champion whose work is reshaping how customer operations are led in utilities. Over the past year, Jess has driven transformational change across customer operations, compliance and digital delivery, leading over 5,000 colleagues through complex change while delivering best‑ever performance. She combines deep expertise in customer operations, compliance, and digital transformation with people‑centred leadership, creating sustainable improvements that go well beyond regulatory expectations. As a visible and influential role model, Jess is helping to reshape expectations of what senior leadership looks like in utilities, proving that ambitious, values‑led women can drive both transformation and results.

Jo Greenan

NESO

Jo Greenan is a senior connections strategy lead at NESO whose decade of industry experience spans EDF Energy and the system operator, where she now delivers major infrastructure reforms under Ofgem and DESNZ’s Connections Action Plan. Passionate about driving cultural change, Jo plays a central role in inclusion across the sector: she advocates for women through the Women’s Utilities Network, facilitates IAmRemarkable workshops, and serves on NESO’s Women in NESO Steering Committee. She led NESO’s partnership with Men for Inclusion, shaping senior‑leader workshops that strengthen allyship and deepen organisational inclusion.

Kirsty McEvoy

Affinity Water

Kirsty McEvoy has dedicated over 15 years to the water industry. She's driven by a family legacy and a passion for improving customer and colleague experiences. Her career spans customer service, operations, digital development, project management, and internal communications, giving her a deep understanding of people, processes and service delivery. As head of assurance and oversight, she has transformed customer experience by uniting teams, strengthening governance and resilience, and launching innovative frameworks that improved compliance, performance and customer outcomes. A people-focused leader, Kirsty champions inclusion, mentors emerging talent, and consistently delivers meaningful improvements.

Samantha Samuels

Energy Networks Association

Samantha delivers sector‑shaping impact at the Energy Networks Association by leading some of the UK’s most influential utilities events, including the Energy Innovation Summit, Basecamp, and international GEODE conference. She has achieved exceptional results while managing programmes of national scale with minimal resourcing, driving record engagement and digital adoption. Her cross‑disciplinary leadership spans operations, technology, marketing, accessibility, and sustainability, embedding best practices into every stage of delivery. Samantha also contributes to industry capability through colleague development and external speaking roles, complemented by recognition such as the Fast Forward 15 shortlist. She exemplifies strategic, future‑focused business leadership within the utilities.

Vanessa Buxton

National Grid

Vanessa is our head of regulatory compliance at National Grid Electricity Distribution, and an outstanding business champion who combines technical excellence with a deep commitment to inclusion. With over 20 years’ experience across network planning, engineering policy, and regulation, she brings rare end‑to‑end insight into how regulation enables safe, effective operational delivery. Alongside her role, Vanessa has driven significant change for women in utilities — co‑chairing inclusion networks, leading wellbeing initiatives addressing traditionally overlooked issues, expanding access to STEM careers for girls, and opening new pathways through early careers and intern programmes.