Centrica plc appoints MDs to lead new business units

Centrica has appointed Managing Directors to lead its new international Distributed Energy & Power and Connected Home business units.

Centrica plc has made two senior internal appointments, of Jorge Pikunic and Nina Bhatia, to leadership roles in the next phase of delivery of its strategy set out in July 2015.

Jorge Pikunic, currently Growth & Development Director and Managing Director of Smart Metering at British Gas, is to become Managing Director, Distributed Energy & Power, effective from 12 October 2015. 

Nina Bhatia, currently Commercial Director of British Gas and responsible for British Gas Connected Homes, will take on the role as Managing Director, Connected Home, effective from 1 November 2015. 

The appointments of Jorge and Nina come as Centrica increases its focus for growth on customer-facing activities and technology-led innovation, both in its traditional areas of business and in new areas. Distributed energy and the connected home were identified as key areas of focus for long-term investment and growth as part of its recent Strategic Review.

These new business units will harness existing distinctive capabilities in the UK and North America, leveraging Centrica’s scale. Bringing together expertise from both sides of the Atlantic will enable Centrica to develop a wider range of products and services, helping deepen the relationship with our customers and providing new revenue growth opportunities.

Iain Conn, Chief Executive, said:

“I am delighted to confirm these appointments to our new international business units. In Jorge and Nina, we have put strong leaders in place to help drive delivery of the next phase of our strategy. With a clear strategic direction, Centrica has a solid platform on which to build, as we focus our growth ambitions on our customer-facing activities.”

Notes

  • Jorge Pikunic has been with Centrica for five years and brings a wealth of experience. In his most recent role, Jorge led the expansion of British Gas Smart Metering, accelerating the roll-out of smart meters to residential customers across Britain and the delivery of smart-enabled operational and commercial benefits throughout British Gas.  Previously, Jorge was Centrica’s Group Strategy Director. Earlier, at McKinsey & Company, he focused on the energy sector in the UK, the rest of Europe, and the Americas. Jorge holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering.
  • Nina Bhatia has successfully led British Gas Connected Homes since 2012, overseeing the launch of the Hive Active Heating smart thermostat, and the acquisition of AlertMe, the technology platform  underpinning our ‘Internet of Things’ activities. She previously ran one of British Gas's national services businesses, including the Dyno-Rod franchise. Prior to joining British Gas in 2010, Nina was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, covering the energy, healthcare and government sectors.
  • Distributed energy is a rapidly growing market focused around five offerings: energy efficiency; flexible generation; integrating new technology offerings such as battery storage; energy management systems;  and optimisation. Centrica already participates in distributed energy in both the UK and North America, and has an existing customer base which includes eight NHS trusts and three Heathrow airport terminals. 
  • The connected home is an important focus area for growth for Centrica.  We already have existing products in this space, including the market-leading Hive Active Heating smart thermostat which has over 200,000 users. We have an end-to-end capability in the areas of platform design and operation, hardware and software development, data analytics, installation and maintenance.  In July, we launched the Hive 2.0 smart thermostat, alongside a portfolio of smart plugs and motion sensors.