Dhara Vyas has been appointed as the new chief executive of industry body Energy UK.
She has been the group’s deputy chief executive since November 2022, and will take over from Emma Pinchbeck, who announced her departure earlier this month to become chief executive of the Climate Change Committee.
Vyas (pictured) joined Energy UK as director of advocacy in November 2021 from Citizens Advice, where she was responsible for the consumer watchdog’s work on net zero, decarbonisation and the future energy market.
Prior to this, she led on several retail issues, including customer service, vulnerability and smart energy.
Vyas has also worked in local government and across a broad range of policy areas from civil society and community building to local democracy and scrutiny.
She has also been a member of several government and academic advisory boards and is a trustee of independent environmental think tank, Green Alliance.
“I am delighted to have this opportunity to lead Energy UK through what will continue to be a defining time for the sector and its role in helping fulfil the country’s ambitions around clean energy,” said Vyas.
She added: “These are undoubtedly big shoes to fill but I know what a great and talented team I can count on at Energy UK.
“I am also looking forward to building on all the work we do with brilliant colleagues from across the industry and beyond.
“It’s a great honour to represent such a vitally important group of businesses.
“Our members deliver an essential service, generating and delivering heat and power to every home and business in the country.
“The energy industry will continue to lead the way on decarbonising power and driving economic growth – and I am excited to lead the trade body that is at the forefront of the energy transition.”
Energy UK chair David Laws said: “We are delighted to be able to announce that Dhara Vyas has been appointed by the Energy UK Board as the organisation’s new chief executive.
“Dhara has all of the knowledge, skills, passion and integrity that our Board looks for in its chief executive and we are very excited that she has agreed to take on this role.
“Emma Pinchbeck has been an outstanding chief executive of EUK and we are sorry to lose her.
“However not only is she taking on a new and crucial role but in replacing her with Dhara we know that the future of EUK is in excellent hands.
“We are confident that Dhara has the same formidable skills in policy, communication, leadership and values that Emma has so effectively displayed.
“Dhara is already well-known and respected not just by everyone at Energy UK but across the whole sector and all our stakeholders – whether that be consumer groups or government ministers.
“She will ensure that there is no loss in momentum in our work at a crucial time with a new government in place.”