senior management team

Our senior management team has a wealth of industry experience and capabilities.

Together it is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy which delivers a market-leading service for our customers and meets shareholder expectations and future ambitions.

The strength of the senior leadership team is regularly reviewed to ensure we have the right mix of skills to meet our objectives.

The SmartestEnergy senior management team consists of:

Yoshiaki Yokota: Non-Executive Chairman and Director

In addition to his role as Non-Executive Chairman and Director of SmartestEnergy, Yoshiaki Yokota is President of Marubeni Europower and responsible for Marubeni Corporation's Power Projects.

Mr Yokota, a graduate in Electrical Engineering, joined SmartestEnergy in 2009 after more than 20 years in senior roles with Marubeni in Pakistan, South-west Asia and the Middle East.

He is responsible for coordinating the activities of the Company through the Directors and the Board. 

Robert Groves: Chief Executive Officer

An MBA graduate from London Business School and a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Robert joined SmartestEnergy as Vice President Commercial in 2004.

Robert had previously held a number of senior positions in metals and energy trading with Enron, Électricité de France (EDF) Trading and BHP Billiton.

As CEO, he is responsible for strategic issues to identify and implement the next phase of SmartestEnergy’s growth.

Hiroyuki Sawada: Chief Operating Officer

Hiroyuki Sawada has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector and has held a number of high-level positions in the wider Marubeni Corporation.  He began his career as an accountant in the Infrastructure and Energy Projects Division.

As COO, Mr Sawada is responsible for all day to day operations of SmartestEnergy.

James Clarke: Vice President, Trading

James Clarke is responsible for wholesale market trading and hedging, route to market, customer service, volume risk management and the Energy Management Centre.

An Economics graduate with a Masters in Political Economy, James joined the company’s commercial team in 2003 after four years at TXU Energy Trading in a number of analytical and project roles. 

Jo Butlin: Vice President, Operations

Jo Butlin joined SmartestEnergy in 2008 to lead and develop its newly established retail business in the UK.

A chartered accountant, Jo has worked in the energy sector for more than 14 years and before joining the company served as a member of the senior leadership team at E.ON UK’s B2B retail business and as Head of Customer Services Development for TXU Europe. 

Simon Little: Vice President, IT

Simon Little is responsible for the company’s strategy, new product deployment, ongoing support, and shareholder liaison in relation to IT.

Simon joined SmartestEnergy as Systems Accounting Manager in 2007 following a number of senior IT management positions with large multi-site companies. He is a Chartered Management Accountant. 

Ryuichi Noyama: Vice President, Risk Management

Ryuichi Noyama is seconded to SmartestEnergy from Marubeni Corporation and is responsible for overseeing all risk management aspects of the company including Marketing & Operational Risk, Credit Risk and Compliance.

Mr Noyama joined Marubeni after graduating in economics from Kyoto University, and was involved in the development and management of power projects in Asia including overseas assignment in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Mr. Noyama joined SmartestEnergy in 2007 as Deputy Vice President of Risk Management. Prior to taking up his current position in April 2011, he had been Deputy Vice President of Operations based in the Ipswich office.

Peter Masterson: Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Peter Masterson joined SmartestEnergy in 2010 and as VP of Sales and Marketing, is responsible for facilitating the continued growth of the company.

Peter has worked in the energy industry for over 30 years in both technical and commercial roles, and has experienced the transition of the industry from regional electricity boards, through to deregulation and consolidation in late 1990s.

Keith Moss: Vice President, Finance

A chartered accountant with 14 years experience in the energy industry, Keith joined SmartestEnergy in March 2011 and is responsible for the company’s finance function.

He was previously Chief Financial Officer with EDF Energy Renewables and prior to that had been Station Manager at the 700 MW Medway gas-fired power station in Kent.

Robert Owens: Vice President, Commercial

Rob Owens was appointed to his role in 2010 after nine years with SmartestEnergy.

Prior to joining the company, Rob held a number of senior analyst positions and also worked on power price projections and commercial modelling of power plants for IIex Consultants, now Pöyry.