COMMUNITY PROFILE

Alistair Phillips-Davies

Board Mentor

Criticaleye

Alistair is the Chair of SSEN Distribution and a Non-Executive Director at Anglian Water Services, Claisen plc, and a member of several UK government advisory bodies focused on energy transition and net zero, including the Clean Power 2030 Commission and the Transition Finance Council. He is a former Chief Executive of SSE plc, one of the UK and Ireland’s leading energy infrastructure and renewable energy companies.

As Chief Executive of SSE from 2013 to 2025, Alistair led a FTSE 30 business with approximately 15,000 employees operating critical national energy infrastructure across the UK, Ireland, and Europe. Under his leadership, SSE underwent a major strategic transformation from a vertically integrated utility into a focused clean energy and infrastructure champion. This included the closure of coal generation assets, divestment of non-core retail businesses, and a significant pivot toward renewable energy and electricity networks, alongside a substantial increase in capital investment to support the energy transition.

Previously, as Generation and Energy Supply Director and Deputy Chief Executive, he held full board responsibility for SSE’s generation, supply, trading, and customer businesses, overseeing significant acquisitions including Airtricity and large-scale generation and storage assets. Earlier in his career at SSE, he held senior roles in corporate finance, business development, and energy supply operations following his appointment to the company in 1997.

He began his career at NatWest Bank and HSBC Investment Bank, specialising in financial strategy, corporate finance, and M&A, and trained as a Chartered Accountant at Deloitte Haskins and Sells. He holds an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and has completed executive education at INSEAD and Wharton.
Alistair is recognised for his strategic leadership in complex, regulated markets, deep expertise in energy systems and policy, and extensive experience in large-scale organisational transformation, acquisitions, and integration. He was awarded a CBE in 2024 for services to the energy industry and net zero.