This month we had the pleasure of speaking to David Wylie, one of our new Non-Executive Directors who joined the Board in October 2021.
David Wylie - Non Executive Director
Firstly, congratulations on your recent appointment to the RECCo Board. What made you want to join the Board?
Thanks – it’s something that I am hugely looking forward to. I spent a large part of my career working in the energy sector and a functioning competitive market that works for suppliers and consumers is something that I am really passionate about.
The chance to play a key part of this was really interesting to me. I was also struck by the quality of the leadership team and the ethos that the organisation has to improve every day.
I know that suppliers are key to the success for any business so I’m really looking to bring some of that experience in helping activate that critical supply chain.
How do you think your experiences so far will benefit the RECCo Board?
I’ve worked in a number of Commercial and Procurement functions both within the private and public sector and have a strong belief that collaborative and innovative relationships with your key suppliers can drive real meaningful value to an organisation.
I’ve driven this type of approach within the commercial functions that I’ve led over the years. Where you line up the organisation and its suppliers, something very powerful can happen.
I’m hoping this experience will be useful for the commercial team at RECCO. More broadly, I worked on the Board of London Underground which has a huge focus on the end users of its service and on ensuring value for money whilst delivering a more digital future – I think I can bring some of this experience to the RECCo Board.
What do you see as some of the key challenges and opportunities in the retail energy market currently?
Clearly there are some significant challenges in the market currently and ensuring that there is a value driven environment in which suppliers can operate.
I do see some opportunities arising in the future particularly as the retail energy market starts to develop and diversify.
The move to a decarbonised future and the roll out of EV create new opportunities for new providers and new propositions in the future.
RECCo will need to make sure it is flexible and adaptable to move with these changes. I’m delighted to get the opportunity to work with Rosa Stewart who joined the board at the same time as me to learn from her deep expertise in this space.
What do you think RECCo should prioritise over the next 12 months?
Well the first thing is to always to prioritise RECCo’s core responsibilities which are currently working well. RECCo has ambitious plans for the future as well. There are six priority workstreams for RECCo over 2022/23 which are covered in RECCo’s draft Strategy and Forward Work Consultation for 2022- 2025.
These workstreams are vital to the core delivery of RECCo’s Mission Statement and values. Service delivery will always remain a key focus. It’s crucial that the services in which RECCo provide and/or govern are effective, cost-efficient and meet the needs and demands of stakeholders both now and in future.
Additionally, high on everyone’s agenda this year is the implementation of the switching programme and RECCo play a crucial role in this. RECCo is providing the REC version 3.0 legal text to deliver these changes, and new Service Providers are being brought onboard.
Any activities required to be undertaken by RECCo or its Service Providers which are on the critical path towards switching programme go-live must be delivered on time and to required standards in accordance with the overall Switching Programme plan and much work has been undertaken so far to ensure this and this will be a continued focus over months to come.
Finally, what keeps you busy outside of work?
I’ve got 2 children that keep me very busy. Other than that, I play a lot of tennis, quizzes and love reading up on History which is a passion of mine.