– WUN will be hosting a keynote and panel discussion on Building personal resilience in challenging times at Utility Week Live.

Don’t forget to also come & say hello at the WUN stand – meet some of the WUN board & advocate team.

This session will be led by WUN and will kick off with a keynote session from positive psychology practitioner and trauma-informed coach, Ruth Cooper-Dickson, who will look at the topic of resilience and how we can build resilience within our work and personal lives.

Ruth will also participate in a panel session alongside senior female leaders from the Utilities sector, including WUN board member Sarah McMath, the Chief Executive of MOSL, Emma Clancy, Chief Executive at CCW and Monica Collings, Chief Executive Officer of So Energy.

Each of these panelists will share their experiences around resilience, and there will be an opportunity for questions from the floor.

Speakers:

Sarah McMath
Sarah is a WUN Director & Chief Executive of MOSL, the market operator for the non-household water retail market in June 2019. Her focus is on driving collaboration to ensure that the water market delivers on its commitments to customers and uses its position of independence to advance simple and effective water markets for the benefit of business customers and the environment. MOSL is an inclusive workplace, with a focus on ensuring that all members of the team can be their authentic selves at work.
With a doctorate in Environmental Engineering, Sarah worked for Thames Water for 24 years in a wide variety of roles, leading teams of up to 3,000 people in both technical and operational areas. After eight years leading Asset Management functions, Sarah led the development of the company’s Business Plan. Sarah was then Head of Strategy, developing the corporate strategy for the board of Thames Water. Sarah was also responsible for the programme management of the preparations for the opening of the non-household market in April 2017. Sarah joined the executive team at Thames Water in April 2017, as Managing Director of Water, with executive accountability for the treatment and delivery of clean, safe drinking water to over nine million customers in London and the Thames Valley.
Sarah is married, with two children at University. Outside of work Sarah enjoys cooking, reading and walking.

Ruth Cooper-Dickson

An award-winning positive psychology practitioner and trauma-informed coach, Ruth founded global Mental Wealth consultancy, CHAMPS, in 2015 and has since worked with a multitude of internationally renowned brands. With a firm belief that corporate wellbeing support services are only as effective as the culture in which they are delivered, Ruth designs and delivers programmes to help clients on their journey of positive organisational change.
Working within a diverse range of sectors and specialisms, Ruth has spoken on the benefits of ingraining positive Mental Wealth into corporate culture at leading industry events. A highly accomplished public speaker, Ruth has delivered engaging keynote presentations internationally.
Ruth also founded CHAMPS for Change CIC, which prioritises the needs of anyone who has experienced trauma and adversity and which receives financial support from CHAMPS, this has seen her working with humanitarian aid volunteers out in the field, a fashion charity for marginalised young people, and a very successful Thrivership Coaching Programme for women who have experienced domestic abuse.
Putting authenticity at the heart of everything she does, Ruth often shares her own lived experience of panic disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, trauma and ADHD. Ruth is a patron of the UK anxiety charity, No Panic. Ruth holds an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, her ongoing field of research is within professional coaching and post-traumatic growth, which she presents at conferences around the world. Ruth is soon to be a published academic on this topic in a world-leading psychology journal.

Emma Clancy

Emma joined CCW from global building products manufacturer BMI where she was Director of Care and formerly served as Chair of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC). She served the committee for over nine years and headed up a number of committees providing expert advice to Government, helping to develop the future regulatory framework for buildings addressing sustainability and safety issues.

She boasts a wealth of experience in consumer protection, public policy and regulation during a career covering sectors including construction, banking, retail and not-for-profit organisations.

Emma’s interest in consumer affairs can be traced right back to her early employment with Which? That led her to pursue other consumer-focused roles including serving two terms as a non-executive director of TrustMark – the Government-endorsed quality scheme for tradespeople.

Prior to her role at BMI she was CEO of Certsure LLP for 15 years – the leading voluntary regulatory body in the electrical contracting and energy sector which is focused on raising standards. Emma’s leadership and innovative thinking was credited with modernising the not-for-profit joint venture – moving it up more than 20 places in The Times Top 100 Companies to work for in 2018.

Monica Collings

Monica is Chief Executive Officer of So Energy, challenger retail energy supplier and part of the ESB Group. Having worked within the energy industry since 2018, she formerly led Vattenfall’s supplier in GB. With a career foundation in marketing and communications, her path to leadership has seen her work in a number of industries including property, automotive and retail; markets clearly relevant as part of the energy transition to net zero. Monica sits as a non-executive on a number of boards in addition to her executive role, and chairs a Diversity and Inclusivity Committee as part of her portfolio of roles – a subject she is incredibly passionate about. In terms of career highlights, these include an impressive track record of business transformation, innovation and NPD, scaling and growth, managing M&A processes as well as her passion for creating strong visions and aligning organisational purpose to achieve results delivery.

The session will be chaired by Hayley Monks WUN Founder.

Hayley is an experienced business leader, with over 20 years spent in roles in operations, credit management, and customer service leadership. She is one of the founder Members of the successful Women in Utilities Network, and in 2015 launched Think, Inspire Create, a unique consultancy focused on supporting businesses to grow, evolve and drive change through working with them to develop their people. Think Inspire Create, known to colleague and customers as TICL (pronounced Tickle) work with clients across many sectors. Hayley’s experience gives her a unique perspective on what makes businesses successful, and her engaging and inspiring style means she is an influential speaker and acts as a personal coach to many senior leaders. In March 2023 Hayley joined WNS Global as SVP Utilities.

Additional panelist tbc.