Co-operative Energy has appointed David Bird as its new chief executive. He joins the organisation from from E.on where he is currently managing director of its UK residential and metering business.
The business, which is part of Midcounties Co-operative, has seen rapid growth over the past year, after the organisation was chosen to take on 160,000 customers of bankrupt GB Energy Supply.
It now has over 400,000 customers and the board of Midcounties appointed Mr Bird “following a comprehensive process to strengthen the management of Co-operative Energy” in such a regulated market. He will be reporting to Ben Reid, group chief executive of Midcounties.
“Co-operative Energy has seen outstanding growth over the past couple of years,” said Mr Reid. “It is clear we need to strengthen our team and increase our capacity for further growth. We are therefore very pleased to have been able to attract such a high calibre industry expert such as David Bird to this new post.
Mr Reid added that the organisation was “convinced” that Mr Bird’s values align closely with those of Co-operative Energy.
David Bird has previous experience at National Express, where he was group customer service director, and at Vodafone, Homebase, BUPA and Marks and Spencer, where he started his career. He has also held a number of Non-Executive roles and since 2014 has been a non-executive commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
“I’m delighted to be joining Co-operative Energy and the Midcounties Co-operative on the next stage of its journey to support members, customers and the communities that the society serves,” he said.
“The opportunity to create something different to the rest of the energy market, underpinned by a core set of values, is incredibly appealing, as is working with the other businesses under the Midcounties umbrella”.
