As WUN continues to grow and develop, the time commitment required of the day to day management and Board involvement has also grown. For this reason WUN Founders Rebecca Sedler and Angie Needle have both decided to step down from the WUN Board at the end of 2022 as they balance the demands of their senior roles and young families. They will however continue to support WUN in a Non- Executive capacity and continue to be actively involved in WUN’s offer. The remaining Board members wish to thank both Rebecca & Angie as they were both instrumental in founding WUN & driving its success & ongoing development over the past four years.

“What started as a bright idea discussed round a table over lunch has developed into a significant movement supporting women develop their careers in the sector. Both Rebecca and Angie have been key to this growth with their ideas, energy, practical support and passion for the cause. Whilst they are stepping back from the day to day management of WUN, they remain actively involved and we look forward to continuing to work with them” – Jo Butlin

We are delighted that Sharon Sage, Public Sector Sales & Service manager at EDF will be joining the WUN Board in January 2023. Sharon has been actively involved in WUN as an advocate for the past two years and leads the Advocate team. WUN is passionate about supporting development & opportunities for women & we are delighted that Sharon will formally join the Board..

“I wish that I had WUN back when started out my career in the industry 16 years ago. I have been an advocate for over 2 years, and I am delighted that I now have the opportunity to provide support to members in this more strategic role.WUN is invaluable in providing support, insight and a voice to woman in our industry and I can’t wait to continue to build on the great work we have done so far” Sharon Sage

We are thrilled that Louise Wapshare. CEO Smartest Energy Business & Sarah Hopkins, Pathways People Solutions are also joining the WUN board.

Having qualified as an accountant, Louise spent the first 25 years of her career in various finance roles before moving across to general management in 2019. Working in the energy sector for more than 15 years, Louise has held a number of senior leadership positions within Centrica and SmartestEnergy and is currently CEO of SmartestEnergy Business.

“Utilities is both a challenging and an exciting place to be but unfortunately still lacks diversity with women being under-represented. I am passionate about women’s involvement in the energy industry and truly believe that through diversity we can make better choices as an industry as we all work to deliver on the promise of Net Zero. Being involved in WUN means that I can work with likeminded people to make a difference as we strive for this common goal”

Sarah Hopkins is an experienced senior HR professional with 25 years of practical experience, operating at Executive level at Wales & West Utilities for 13 years. She has subsequently set up her own consulting company, Pathways People Solutions, to offer support to organisations looking to develop their people strategy, management development offering, and coaching programmes.

“I’m delighted to be involved with the WUN not only to contribute using my years of experience of working in utilities, but also my passion for people development. I hope this will be a great combination to support the work of this important organisation – I’ve seen real benefits of women coming together in my previous organisation so I look forward to being part of and working with this wider network.”