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People & Opinion UTILITY WEEK | 17TH - 23RD FEBRUARY 2017 | 7 Q: What's the most impor- tant lesson/idea people should take away from your presentation? A: That the advantages of smart meters and associated technological innovations should be used to benefit vul- nerable consumers as well as more capable consumers. Q: What has been you most successful or challenging experience in your career and what did you learn from it? A: Successful – leading a campaign to make checks of electrical wiring and appli- ances mandatory in privately rented properties, an important and badly needed protection. Challenging – Effecting change on standard tariffs and energy suppliers' exploitation of cus- tomer loyalty, three years and counting without a solution… Speaker's corner Daniel Walker-Nolan, principal policy manager - energy and consumer, Citizens Advice Q: Identify five people you would invite to your dream dinner party and why? A: Mao Zedong (and translator) as I'm fascinated by the Cultural Revolution, misanthropic come- dian Stewart Lee, David Bowie for obvious reasons, and my wife Jen because otherwise I would get in trouble. Q: Name four items you keep on your desk/with you at work that reveal something about your interests/personality. A: We hot desk so it's hard to keep things on any desk for very long. However, my first would be a copy of our latest research so I could pull out detail when ambushed by colleagues. Second my earphones so I can listen to some dodgy electro- pop while responding to emails. Third would be a camomile tea – I've been caffeine free for a year – and forth probably my trusty laptop (did I mention we hot desk?). Dan Walker-Nolan is speak- ing at the Utility Week Consumer Debt conference in Birmingham on 16 March. For more information, visit: http://events.utilityweek. co.uk/debt Giuseppe di Vita, managing director, SES Business Water "First and foremost, keep it simple for the customer. Much of what you do may be complex, but there's no need for that to be shared with customers. It's your job to keep that to yourself and make an offering that is simple, straightforward and as transparent for customers as possible." Chris Clark, chief executive, Blue Business Water "Keep a very tight eye on your cash flow, do whatever is necessary to manage your debt- ors and aged debt, invest in your people, giving them plenty of opportunity to grow and flourish without micro-managing them, and hire the best talent you can." Darren Braham, founder and chief financial officer, First Utility "Energy is a complex sector and not one for the faint-hearted. You need a solid trading practice and the ability to hedge the risk of committing to fixed prices for the contract duration. "Even with that, expect the unexpected: many other costs are still unpredictable, be they imbalance, wholesale, network or policy related." Chris Jones, chief executive, Welsh Water "Your responsibility is to the customers and you should never lose sight of that. You may have investors, regulators and politicians, but your responsibility is to the people you serve and that's what you've got to focus on." James Dubois, managing director, South East Water Choice "You must be honest and accurate with your customers. I want to avoid any customer complaints whatsoever, and that's really my commitment." Dale Vince, chief executive, Ecotricity "Usually when I'm asked for advice I'd say my advice is don't take advice. I don't mean it facetiously, I mean that people should make their own minds up about stuff. "We should listen to other people's experiences, but they never replicate perfectly to our own situations, so advice should be taken with a pinch of salt." "When smart infrastructure responds to everyday needs, you can get meaningful engagement" Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Smart Energy GB: