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UTILITY WEEK | 9TH - 15TH JUNE 2017 | 7 Interview T he "c-word" – customers – is one that Jonathan Kini likes to use a lot. Time and again when speak- ing with Utility Week at Drax's London headquar- ters in Moorgate, he brings the conversation around to how suppliers could and should make life simpler and easier for everyone they serve – whether their customers are in the domestic sphere or, as in Drax's case, the less febrile but arguably more competitive B2B space. From listening in on his customer service team, through to offering new service models to the businesses the company serves, and promoting the low-carbon power Drax produces, Kini is keen to keep the customers front and centre of his mind. Kini – he prefers an informal "JK" – joined Drax last year from Vodafone, where he directed its SME business unit. But it's not only his tenure that makes Kini a fresh face in the energy industry. Just 37 years old when he was appointed chief operat- ing officer at Drax's retail business Haven Power, it took him three months to seize the chief executive's chair. In February this year he progressed to become chief execu- tive of Drax's whole retail operation, which expanded aer the group's acquisition of Opus Energy in 2016. His rapid rise to the top is testament to an energetic, "can-do" leadership style, say his admirers. It also reflects the effectiveness of his relentless focus on cus- tomers, understanding them, and moving his business quickly to deliver what they want. "Ultimately, the customer is everything," says Kini. He spent his first four weeks at Haven Power listen- ing in to customer calls "to make sure what we were say- ing in the boardroom added up to what we were hearing from the customer". And this approach is no flash in the pan. Kini intends to continue making regular appear- ances in Drax's call centres, determined not to lose touch with the reality of day-to-day operations. "A customer's reaction is the moment you know you have success," explains Kini. "If they do phone, they want the matter resolved quickly, to clear up any complexity and to move forward." Kini's customer-centric approach owes much to his background in telecommunications. In addition to his stint running strategy and management for Vodafone's SME customers, he spent five years running the customer service division of Virgin Media, aer heading up Virgin Mobile. This experience is shaping the work he is undertak- ing with Drax's retail operations. While at Vodafone and Virgin, he admits he did not fully understand the energy bills they got through. Nor was energy near the top of business priority lists. "I can't remember a conversation ever at Vodafone or Virgin discussing energy," he admits. "You think, why are these conversations not being had, especially when energy sits at the heart of the most sustainable thing you can do? "Clearly, the less energy you use, the more sustainable you are. "People are busy," he adds. "Energy is a low priority because of the complexity. We know the energy market itself is at a tipping point. The reason for the complexity is the move towards renewables and I think it's unclear as to what the whole sustainable energy mix needs to look like. I don't think anyone has the answer." Drax, via both its retail arms, reached out to SMEs across the UK to try to gain an understanding of what they want from energy. Three-quarters said they want their supplier to do more about renewables.