Board members

Board members

In order to achieve this, the Board meets regularly to provide leadership, set strategic direction and objectives and ensure that appropriate financial and other resources are made available to enable the Company to meet those objectives. One meeting is set aside each year to enable the Board to focus on the strategic direction and objectives of the Company in particular. The Board oversees the work of the Audit Committee in drawing up and maintaining a framework of controls that assess and manage risks to the business.

 

Non-executive directors

 

Alistair Buchanan, CBE

Alistair Buchanan has over 25 years’ experience in the energy industry, including 10 years as Chief Executive of Ofgem. In 2013 he joined KPMG as Partner and UK Chair of Power & Utilities, returning to the firm where he trained as a Chartered Accountant. During his career, Alistair became an award-winning energy sector analyst and head of research for banks in New York and London. With experience at Board level on various companies, he currently also serves as the Chair of the leading period orchestra “The Mozartists”.

 

Anne Baldock

Anne Baldock was previously a partner for 22 years and global head of the Projects, Energy and Infrastructure Group at the international law firm Allen & Overy LLC. She has extensive experience in advising energy companies and governmental boards on significant contracts and projects. Now retired as a solicitor, Anne has a portfolio of Non-Executive Director positions which currently include Pantheon Infrastructure plc, East West Rail Limited and Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority Limited.

 

Susan Cooklin

Susan Cooklin has worked at Board level for over 12 years. Her last executive job was as Managing Director, Route Services Network Rail leading a directorate of 5000 employees delivering a complex portfolio of 60 services with a direct budget of over £2 billion. Before this she was CIO at Network rail for 6 years. Susan retired from executive life in 2022 to embark on her portfolio career full time. She currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director on the Board of Netcompany Group A/S which is listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen, the Spanish company, Nortegas Energia Grupo SLU and the Restoration and Renewal of the Houses of Parliament Delivery Authority in the UK. At ENWL Susan chairs the Safety, Health and Environment Committee and leads the non-executive engagement on cyber security.

 

Rob Holden, CBE

Rob Holden has had a portfolio career for over 15 years following his executive positions as CEO of London & Continental Railways and Crossrail. He was the Chair of NNB Generation (SZC) (more commonly known as Sizewell C) until he stepped down from the role in February 2025.  He was a Non-Executive Director at Sizewell C for several years. Rob was also the Chair at London City Airport for five years until 2023.  His previous Non-Executive roles have been with The Submarine Delivery Agency, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Viridor, High Speed 1 and Eurostar. Rob is a Chartered Accountant who qualified with Arthur Young & Co (now Ernst & Young) and since leaving the accountancy profession has worked with Governments here in the UK and overseas on the delivery of long-term complex projects.

 

Beatriz Araújo

Beatriz Araújo graduated with a First-Class Honours BA in Law from the University of Cambridge (where she also holds an MA). She is an IDP-C at INSEAD and has completed Berkeley Law Executive Education’s Sustainable Capitalism and ESG. Beatriz joined Baker McKenzie in 1985 and became a partner in 1994, then retired in 2023. She has near 40 years of experience leading on and advising clients on business-critical transactions and matters. She has supported the World Economic Forum as an expert on corporate governance projects and has written various white papers and articles on corporate governance topics. Currently she is a member of the Supervisory Board of the Portuguese Institute for Corporate Governance, Head Tutor of Governance for a Sustainable Future at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and independent non-executive director at Drilton Limited and Folgate (Holdings) Limited.

 

Harold Hutchinson

Harold Hutchinson was born in Belfast and has degrees from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland (M.A. Hons. Economics/French), and University of Oxford (M.Phil. Economics). He spent his early career in academia as a lecturer in economics at St. Andrews University. He was subsequently a top-rated research analyst in the energy and utilities sectors for over 25 years at various investment banks, most recently at Investec Bank plc, where he was a Managing Director in the Listed Client Group and Head of UK Equity Research. Currently, he is a Senior Adviser in Alternative Energy at Investec Bank plc. In addition, he is a Trustee and Director at the Regulatory Policy Institute, Oxford, an educational charity dedicated to the promotion of regulatory and market research for the public benefit.

 

Masahide Yamada

Masahide Yamada is employed by the Kansai Electric Power Company Inc. which is an electric utility with its operational area of Kansai region, Japan. He is the General Manager for Asset Management, Americas and Europe Region, International Business Division. Masahide has 10 years’ experience in the field of power distribution, with more than 10 years’ experience in overseas investment in power assets including as a Finance Director of a hydropower project in the Republic of Indonesia, and some experience with Strategy, Planning and Budget Management.

 

Mitsuo Wada

Mitsuo Wada is employed by the Kansai Transmission and Distribution Inc. which is a power system operator covering the Kansai area in Japan. His background is in electrical engineering and he is currently the General Manager for International Business and Cooperation Group in the company. During his more than 20 years of power sector experience, he provided consulting services for several overseas projects, and recently had experience of managing assets as the Director of a 435MW hydro power plant in the Philippines and a 440MW coal power plant in Australia.

 

Executive directors

 

Ian Smyth

Ian Smyth has been Group CEO of Electricity North West Limited since 2022. Prior to Electricity North West, Ian was a Director of UK Power Networks, a Managing Director of Navigant a global advisory and dispute resolution consultancy and the lead partner of the Utilities and Regulated Industries practice for LCP. He has been a consultant for Ernst & Young. Ian has worked internationally for governments, regulators and utilities across electricity, gas and water. Ian has a BA(Hons) in philosophy, psychology and artificial intelligence from Manchester Metropolitan University and an MSc in Cognitive Science from the University of Birmingham.

 

Chris Johns

Chris Johns joined Electricity North West Limited as Group CFO (Chief Financial Officer) in May 2023. Chris is a Chartered Accountant and has previously been CFO of Yorkshire Water, a role he held from June 2020. He has also previously held the roles of Finance Director of both Northumbrian Water Group and Northern Gas Networks.