Leadership

Lucinda Riches CBE (Chairman) brings significant capital markets experience, having advised public companies on strategy, fundraising and investor relations for many years. She also brings extensive experience as a public company non-executive director across a variety of businesses, including two FTSE 100 companies.

Lucinda worked at UBS and its predecessor firms for 21 years until 2007 where she was a Managing Director, and Global Head of Equity Capital Markets and a member of the board of the investment bank. She is Chairman of Peel Hunt Limited and a non-executive Director of Ashtead Group plc and Kingfisher plc. Previously she was a non-executive Director of UK Financial Investments, a non-executive Director of The Diverse Income Trust plc and Senior Independent Director of The British Standards Institution and until 2021 she was a non-executive Director of CRH plc and Senior Independent Director of ICG Enterprise Trust plc. She was awarded a CBE in 2017 for her services to financial services, British industry and charity.

Caoimhe Giblin (Director and Audit Committee Chairman) has extensive experience in the electricity industry sector and is currently Co-Chief Executive Officer at ElectroRoute, an energy trading company which is part of the Mitsubishi Corporation group of companies.

Prior to that, Caoimhe was Director of Finance for SSE Renewables where she had responsibility for the financial activities of SSE’s significant on and offshore wind development and construction portfolio. Prior to this, Caoimhe held various roles in the corporate finance department at Airtricity where she gained significant experience in corporate acquisitions and disposals, equity fundraising, project finance and debt financing and managed the company’s corporate valuation process.

Caoimhe qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and spent the early part of her career focusing on providing corporate finance due diligence, internal audit and risk management services. Caoimhe is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and has a BA in Accounting & Finance and an MBS in Accounting from Dublin City University. Caoimhe also holds a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors, of which she is a member.

Jim Smith (Director) is the former Managing Director of SSE Renewables, with 34 years experience within the electricity industry at SSE. Since retiring from full time employment in 2022 he has transitioned into a number of part time roles and is Chair of Noriker Power Ltd, Chair of Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport Ltd, Chair of Renewable Parts Ltd and non-executive Director of Reventus Power Ltd. Jim is also a renewable energy ambassador for Cowi UK Ltd. 

Jim’s early career in SSE was in development, construction and operations in both hydro and gas fired generation where he became Station Manager at Peterhead Power Station. He then went on to be Director of Major Projects responsible for the group’s major capital infrastructure investments in renewables, thermal generation, gas storage and transmission. 

Following SSE’s acquisition of Airtricity in 2008, he led offshore wind development and construction before taking responsibility for all wind development and construction. He subsequently was the Managing Director of the groups energy trading business before becoming Managing Director of Generation Operations. Following a restructuring in 2018 Jim became the Managing Director of SSE Renewables with responsibility for the 4GW operational fleet and the development pipeline, taking over 5GW (gross) of projects through financial close prior to his retirement. 

Jim is a Mechanical Engineer, trained mediator and a mentor for the MCR Pathways charity. 

Nick Winser C.B.E. (Senior Independent Director) has had a 30 year career in the energy sector which included being CEO of National Grid across UK and Europe, President of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity and CIGRE UK Chairman. Nick was previously the Chairman of Energy Systems Catapult and was appointed Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Energy Revolution ISCF programme in 2018. He was appointed Electricity Network Commissioner by the Government in summer 2022 and is Energy Commissioner at the National Infrastructure Commission. During 2024, Nick was appointed as a Commissioner of the Clean Power 2030 Commission and took an advisory role with the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority. 

Nick is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology, serving as its President in 2017/18 and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Nick is also former Chairman of the MS Society and a former member of the Board of the Kier Group. 

Abigail Rotheroe (Director) is a CFA Charterholder with over 25 years’ experience in the investment industry. She brings a recent investment background in ESG and sustainable investing alongside her previous involvement in institutional and retail asset management. Abigail also has deep non-executive experience including as a public company non‑executive director. 

During her career in fund management, Abigail held positions at Schroder Capital Management, HSBC Asset Management and was a Director of Columbia Threadneedle Investments managing retail and pension fund assets in Asia and Emerging markets. Most recently she was the Investment Director of Snowball Impact Management, responsible for developing the firm’s approach to impact investment and measurement. 

Abigail is currently a non-executive director of HydrogenOne Capital Growth plc (and Chair of the Remuneration and Management Engagement Committee), Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon plc (and Chair of the Nomination Committee) and Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust plc. She is a member of the Investment Advisory Committee of WHEB Asset Management LLP, is an investment committee member for the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Robertson Trust and has sat on the CFA UK’s Impact Investing Certificate expert panel, from its inception to the creation of the certificate. 

Taraneh Azad (Director) is a Partner (having previously served as its Managing Partner) and Chief Investment Officer at Systemiq, where she has been instrumental in transforming the company into a resilient, agile, and trusted system change organisation. With over 25 years of experience in finance, commercial, and business development, Taraneh has held senior positions at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Hartree Partners, and TXU Europe in the energy sector. In these roles, she primarily collaborated with corporates and sovereigns across Europe and the Middle East, focusing on energy price risk management. 

Taraneh’s career began with international development works for projects of the European Union and the United Nations, showcasing her commitment to global progress from the outset. Fluent in German, English, and Persian, she has had the opportunity to work in numerous countries around the world, further enriching her diverse professional background. At Systemiq, she advises companies across Europe and the Middle East on sustainability and energy transition, leveraging her extensive experience and expertise.