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utILItY WeeK | 29th August - 4th september 2014 | 7 Nina Skorupska will speak at the first Everywoman Women in Energy Academy on 9 September, where she will challenge female attendees seeking career planning and personal development tips to ask themselves "Why should anyone want to be led by me?" As a female who has held leadership roles in a male- dominated industry, Skorupska advises: "It is crucial you learn to 'degenderise' con- versations with your team. Learn to use banter that creates a 'safe' environment for communication – not only for yourself but for others. Meet your team half way." People & Opinion Utility Week community Speaker's corner Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive, the Renewable Energy Association Personal notes: What are your best and worst career moments? Best: working as a board member of a very large energy company in the Netherlands. It's a very progressive, customer-focused environment to work in and our team delivered so positively on our projects. When a team func- tions that well it's worth more than money can buy. Worst: I worked for an energy company where I was the recognised fuel expert and had to visit a power station to offer advice. At the last moment, my boss who was meant to accompany me on the trip had to pull out and so I went on my own. The management team at that power station then proceeded to totally ignore me. They didn't believe that as a woman I had the capability to help them improve their plant performance. The engineering manager led the behaviour. It was a terrible example of the importance of leadership and the first time I encountered blatant sexism. Which five people would you invite to your ideal dinner party and why? Mo Molan – she was witty and brave but always human. She was extraordinarily respected – even by people who didn't agree with her views. Nelson Mandela – another person with incredible powers of reconciliation. Alan Davies and Stephen Fry, to help us talk about serious issues with some humour. And my sister Helena Billing- ton. She's always been an inspi- ration to me – she's some years older and broke convention by going to university – a woman from a poor Polish family. She then became a chemistry teacher and has inspired countless young people. If there was room I would, of course, also invite my husband. Name four things on your desk: My Mac book – I love the way design and functionality come together in Apple products. A picture of my sisters, a Calla lily and a stack of pamphlets about growing the renewable energy economy – the Renewable Energy Association's reason for being. That's debatable: Ofgem's tough stance on DNO revenues "Our plans will deliver better cus- tomer service and efficient investment at a lower cost for the customer." "A cut in expenditure of £600 million over eight years is disap- pointing and will impact investment." Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan and uKpN chief executive basil scarsella on Ofgem's draft determinations for rIIO eD1. see p21 for analysis some appointments you may have missed this summer: Environment Agency sir philip Dilley was appointed chairman of the environment Agency. He will offi- cially take up his post on 8 september. sir philip was previously chairman of the inter- national engineering firm Arup. He received his knighthood for ser- vices to engineering in June this year. Centrica Iain Conn has been confirmed as the next chief executive of Centrica. he will take up the post in January 2015. Conn is currently group managing director and head of downstream at bp where he was worked for almost 30 years. CBI the Confederation of british Industry (CbI) has appointed a new director of economics – rain Newton-smith. Newton-smith is cur- rently head of emerg- ing markets at Oxford economics, where she is a China specialist. she has also worked for the bank of eng- land and the ImF. Ovo Energy Ovo energy named Jason sharpe its new managing director. sharpe was previously head of customer ser- vice at Ovo. he joined the company in 2013 from Vodafone. ExECutIvE AppOIntmEnts The main event The Women in Energy Academy is taking place on 9 September in Gloucester. For more informa- tion about the speakers and the agenda, visit Utility Week's website: www.utilityweek.co.uk/ event