Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2025

Nick was appointed as Chief Executive of the Energy Institute in 2021 and has overall oversight of all the Energy Institute’s activities globally.  Prior to this he spent nearly 22 years at BP plc in a broad variety of executive and management roles.  Latterly Nick held the post of Chief Development Officer of Alternative Energy, where he led BP’s strategy and business development in a broad range of renewable technologies, including solar, offshore wind and digital energy. Through this role Nick was also a member of the BP Ventures Investment Committee, sponsoring several of BP’s venture investments.

Nick also held senior roles as VP Competitor Intelligence and as Head of North America Investor Relations, based in Houston. Nick’s early career was spent in a variety of operational, technical, and commercial roles in the upstream business, based offshore in the North Sea, Aberdeen, Algeria and London.

Nick holds a PhD in Mechanical / Electrical Engineering and a degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Southampton.  Nick is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and a Fellow of both the Energy Institute and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Nick is passionate about creating an inclusive and supportive environment for everyone and is a Board Member of POWERful Women. Nick sits on the International Advisory Council of Universiti Teknologi Petronas, in Malaysia. Nick also advises and mentors entrepreneurs in energy start-up companies.

Outside of work, Nick enjoys running, cycling, yoga and spending time with his wife, Debbie, and their two sons.

Mark Schaffer is a Professor of Economics at Heriot-Watt University.  His fields of research include applied econometrics, energy economics, labour markets, emerging and transition economies, economic history and evolutionary theory.  Prof. Schaffer graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1982, and holds degrees in economics from Stanford University and the London School of Economics. Prof. Schaffer is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Royal Society of Arts, and is a Research Fellow of IZA, the Institute for Labor Economics.  He has worked as a consultant for organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF, EBRD, the United Nations, the European Commission, and the UK Government, and is a director of Wattage Consulting Ltd.

Joanna Whittington has held a number of senior roles in the energy and transport sectors and in economic regulation. She is currently a Non-Executive Director at SGN, a UK gas distribution business, at the Payment Systems Regulator and at Powerful Women, an initiative which seeks a gender equal, diverse and inclusive energy sector.

Before starting her portfolio career, Joanna was Director General, Energy and Security at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) from October 2018 to December 2022.

Joanna was the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) from January 2016. She joined the ORR in 2014 as Director of Railway Markets and Economics with responsibility for ORR’s economic regulation and competition roles.  Prior to this she worked at Ofgem for over a decade where she held a number of senior posts. In her last role as Partner for Markets, she was responsible for regulation of the wholesale gas and electricity markets.