Our Board

Lord Smith of Kelvin - Chairman
Robert joined the Board as a non-Executive Director in June 2003 and became Chairman in June 2005. He is also: Chairman of the Weir Group plc; a non-Executive Director of Standard Bank Group Ltd; Chairman of Glasgow 2014 Ltd, the organising committee for the Commonwealth Games; Chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland; and a member of the Council of Economic Advisers to the First Minister of Scotland. Robert is Chairman of the Nomination Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee.

Ian Marchant - Chief Executive
Ian was appointed Chief Executive in 2002, having been Finance Director since 1998. He has worked in the energy industry since 1992, when he joined Southern Electric. He is also: a member of the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy; Chairman of the Scottish Climate Change Business Delivery Group; Chairman of the 2020 Delivery Group; a member of Ofgem's Environmental Advisory Group; a member of the Energy Research Partnership; a non-Executive Director of John Wood plc and Maggie's Cancer Centres; and became Chairman of the Engineering Construction Forum in 2009. Ian is a member of the Nomination Committee and is Lead Director for the Environment and Corporate Responsibility.

Gregor Alexander - Finance Director
Gregor was appointed Finance Director and joined the Board in 2002, having previously been Group Treasurer and Tax Manager. He has worked in the energy industry since 1990, when he joined Scottish Hydro Electric. Gregor is a Director of Scotia Gas Networks. He is a member of the Risk and Trading Committee.

Colin Hood - Chief Operating Officer
Colin was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2002, having joined the Board as Power Systems Director in 2001. He has worked in the energy industry since 1977, when he joined Scottish Hydro Electric. He has Board level responsibility for Generation, Power Systems, Human Resources and IT. Colin is a Director of Scotia Gas Networks and became a non-Executive Director of FirstGroup plc in May 2009. He is SSE's Lead Director for Health and Safety matters and is Chairman of the Safety, Health and Environment Advisory Committee.

René Médori - Audit Committee Chairman
René joined the Board as a non-Executive Director in June 2003. He is Finance Director of Anglo American plc and is a non-Executive Director of Anglo Platinum and DB (De Beers) Investments. He is Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee.

Alistair Phillips-Davies - Energy Supply Director
Alistair was appointed Energy Supply Director and joined the Board in 2002, having previously been Energy Trading Director. He has worked in the energy industry since 1997, when he joined Southern Electric. Alistair has Board level responsibility for Energy Trading, Electricity and Gas Supply, Energy Efficiency, Customer Service, Sales, Marketing and Energy Services. He is Chairman of the Energy Retail Association and chairs the Risk and Trading Committee.

Lady Rice CBE - Senior Independent Director
Susan joined the Board as non-Executive Director in July 2003 and became Senior Independent Director of the Lloyds Banking Group Scotland. Susan is also a non-Executive Director of the Court of the Bank of England and chairs the Board of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, along with several other organisations. Susan chairs the Remuneration Committee and is a member of the Nomination Committee.

Nick Baldwin - Non-Executive Director
Nick joined the Board as a non-Executive Director in 2006. Previously, he worked in the energy industry, culminating in being Chief Executive of Powergen plc. Nick is a non-Executive Director of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the Forensic Science Service and Sanctuary Housing Group and is Chair of the Public Weather Service Customer Group. He is also Chairman of TreeHouse Trust. Nick is a member of the Audit, Remuneration and Nominations Committees.

Richard Gillingwater - Non-Executive Director
Richard joined the Board as a non-Executive Director in May 2007. He is Dean of the Cass Business School and is non-Executive Chairman of CDC Group plc and a Senior Independent Director of Tomkins plc. Richard is a member of the Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees.

Thomas Thune Andersen - Non-Executive Director
Thomas joined the Board as a non-Executive Director in 2008. He is a non-Executive Director of Petrofac plc and of VKR Holding. He was Chief Executive of Maersk Oil, a member of the Group Executive Board AP Moller-Maersk, as well as director or chairman of a number of companies within the AP Moller-Maersk Group, until 2009. He is a member of the Audit, Nomination, and Safety, Health and Environment Advisory Committees.