Robert Groves: Chief Executive Officer

Robert is responsible for the management of SmartestEnergy’s 3.3GW of aggregated generation capacity from distribution-connected generators, as well as the supply of electricity to large business consumers.

Robert began his energy career with Enron in 1997 and held senior commercial positions at EDF Trading and BHP Billiton, before joining SmartestEnergy in 2004 as Vice President Commercial. He became Chief Operating Officer in 2006 and was then appointed Chief Executive in 2011.

A former submarine engineer in the Royal Navy and Chartered Engineer, Robert has an MBA from London Business School, a BEng(Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and a Diploma in Nuclear Technology and Engineering.

Dave Cockshott: Chief Commercial Officer

Dave joined SmartestEnergy in 2017 and is responsible for all commercial activity across retail supply, generation, trading and asset optimisation.

He has held director level roles with both “Big 6” and large energy consultants and he played a leading role in the development of flexible contracts in the industry.

Dave joined SmartestEnergy from Inenco Group where he was Chief Commercial Officer with board responsibility for client relationships.

Previous roles have included both I&C and latterly Domestic Market Director for npower, managing a team of over 1,400.

He has also worked for Utilyx and Northern Electric and Gas. He is a Member of the Institute of Directors.

Takafumi Shigemura: Chief Operating Officer

Takafumi Shigemura joined Marubeni Corporation in 2007 as Foreign Exchange & Financial Products Dept. and became General Manager of Power Generation Development Team in Domestic Power development department in 2013. He has 8 years of experience in IPP business in Japan, especially covering the renewable sectors: hydro, on-shore wind, off-shore wind, solar, biomass and geo-thermal, and also working for thermal power.

He then joined SmartestEnergy in April 2017 as Deputy Chief Commercial Officer, before becoming Chief Operating Officer in April 2019. In this role he has responsibility across functions including sales & marketing, trading, risk management, customer services, finance and HR.

He graduated from the Gakushuin University, with a Bachelor of Management (Economics) in 1996 and has over 10 years of experience in financial trading and the investment sector in Japan. He has worked in Marubeni Corporation for over 10 years.

Louise Wapshare: Vice President, Finance

Louise is a key member of the senior management team and provides financial leadership across all aspects of the company’s operations. Her role also includes supporting potential merger & acquisition opportunities.

Louise joined SmartestEnergy in 2016 from Centrica where she had performed a number of roles, the most recent being Head of Finance for British Gas Home Repairs where key achievements had included successful delivery of a £2.8m accounting IT change project.

She began her career at London-based Brebner, Allen & Trapp after graduating in Accountancy and Economics from Reading University. Louise is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants and of the Chartered Institute of Management.

Sophie Taylor: Vice President IT & Business Change

Sophie provides the vision, leadership and day to day oversight of all SmartestEnergy’s Change and IT activities.

Her role includes responsibility for work to support the continued sustainable growth of the company within an integrated IT platform environment.

Sophie joined SmartestEnergy from International Financial Data Services (IFDS) where she was Director of Change Management. She has previously served as Head of Change Management for Legal & General and holds a BSc (Hons) Degree in Information Technology.