Leadership Team

David Taylor-Smith, MBE

Non-Executive Chairman

OCU Group

With almost 30 years of senior leadership experience, David brings an extensive list of skills and knowledge to his role as Non-Executive Chairman. He ensures that opportunities and risks are always suitably managed, with expert oversight on executive management’s performance against OCU Group’s key objectives and values.

Tania Songini

Non-Executive Director

OCU Group

Tania brings over 20 years of senior executive management experience at Siemens, where she worked as financial and commercial director in the energy, healthcare, and logistics sectors, most recently serving as Finance Director of Siemens Energy UK and NW Europe. 

She has had exposure to the entire energy value chain, including a range of technologies such as solar, wind, battery storage, hydrogen, geothermal, eV-charging, waste-to-energy and energy demand management.

In recent years Tania has built a portfolio of non-executive director roles focussed on the energy transition, including on the board of the UK Infrastructure Bank, Thrive Renewables plc, The Private Infrastructure Development Group and Guernsey Electricity.

Michael Hughes

Chief Executive Officer

OCU Group

Michael brings a wealth of experience to his role as Group CEO, having previously increased revenues and overseen growth strategies for EG Group, EMR and Homeserve. He specialises in organisation design, growth platforms in M&A and international expansion, with a deep understanding of the utilities sector.

David Snowball

Chief Financial Officer

OCU Group

David is a highly experienced CFO having held previous leadership roles in large, international and acquisitive businesses including EG Group, Fishawack Health and EMR.  A Chartered Accountant, David spent over a decade at KPMG working in Audit and Deal Advisory.

Adrian O’Sullivan

Managing Director

OCU Utility Services

Joining OCU Group in 2011, Adrian has been a Managing Director since 2017. He has previously worked in leadership roles with T&K Gallagher (now Network Plus), Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions and Kenton Utilities Services, giving him an unparalleled understanding of contracting and managing framework agreements within the utilities industry.

Vince Bowler

Managing Director

OCU Energy Services

As Managing Director, Vince is chiefly responsible for driving growth within the OCU Energy Services and projects division. He has been involved in both creating and delivering some of the UK’s largest transmission and distribution network projects, including the Nemo Link HVDC Interconnector between the UK and Belgium.

Michael Cornwell

Group General Counsel

OCU Group

With 12+ years of experience at PZ Cussons Plc (a FTSE 250 Plc), Michael is OCU Group’s legal lead on all Mergers & Acquisition activity around the world. He has previously worked with clients including BT plc, Peel Holdings, Co-Op, RBS, American Golf and Mersey Docks & Harbour Company.

Chris Corrie

Group Commercial Director

OCU Group

Chris is a member of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors and an Accredited NEC3 an NEC4 Project Manager. He brings 18 years of experience working both with and for major contractors like Balfour Beatty, managing teams of up to 30 quantity surveyors.

Danny Dix

Senior Operations Director

OCU Utility Services

Danny has worked with OCU for 30+ years, with prior experience at British Telecom and Telefusion for a total of almost 40 years of experience in the Telecoms industry. He currently manages high-level accounts including Openreach, Vodafone and Network Rail Telecom.

Graham Billsborough

Chief Information Officer

OCU Group

Graham is accountable for all technology strategy and delivery as the Group CIO. He has a strong background in technology leadership roles within listed (AIM & FTSE) and private businesses. He previously held roles within EG Group, Enterprise plc, AstraZeneca, EDS and founded a technology business ‘GB3′, acquired in 2019 by EG Group. He has a wealth of large-scale IT strategy, delivery and acquisition experience.

Karen White

Group SHEQ Director

OCU Group

Karen leads the SHEQ strategy and supports delivery across the Group. She has a master’s degree in Occupational Health and Safety Management and is a chartered environmentalist with over 25 years of SHEQ experience. Karen has held various senior global SHEQ leadership roles for international FTSE businesses in highly regulated and complex environments

Lucy Miller

Group HR Director

OCU Group

As OCU Group HR Director, Lucy plays a pivotal role in shaping our people strategy; spearheading people initiatives, fostering a positive working environment and ensuring a strong focus on employee growth, development and wellbeing. With a diverse and extensive background in multiple industries, Lucy brings a wealth of experience to the business.

Mark Thornberry

Business Transformation and Integration Director

OCU Group

With extensive experience working for some of the North-West’s biggest companies, Mark is a qualified Chartered Accountant with expertise in financial strategy and management. He has previously lent his skills to Matalan, EG Group, Warrantywise, NextGEN360 and Together Money.

Mathew Edwards

M&A Director

OCU Group

Mathew takes responsibility for OCU Group’s M&A activities, bringing extensive experience from a 20-year career with PwC, mainly in Transaction Services. Since joining OCU, Mathew has used his expertise to review almost 40 M&A opportunities and completed a variety of strategically important acquisitions for the Group.

Mike McNulty

HDD Director

OCU Group

With over 30 years of civil engineering experience, Mike specialises in horizontal directional drilling and trenchless technology, bringing his expertise and knowledge to the delivery of large projects at a national level for the Group.

Paul Alderton

Senior Operations Director

OCU Utility Services

Joining OCU in 2002, Paul oversees Telecoms delivery teams with an aggregate sales value of over £100m, maintaining engagement with Director level clients across the Telecoms sector. Prior to his current role, Paul worked for companies including Ashbourne Communications and CH2MHill.

Pinder Kang

Chief Strategy Officer

OCU Group

As OCU Group’s Chief Strategy Officer, Pinder has extensive in-sector experience from previous leadership roles at SSE, Balfour Beatty and Arab Engineering Bureau. His current focus is on long-term growth prospects and non-regulated workstreams.

Richard Lye

Operations Director

OCU Utility Services

As Operations Director of OCU Utility Services, Richard brings leadership experience in directing and managing utility frameworks in Northern England. He has previously worked with Morrison Utility Services to provide essential planning, co-ordination and business development expertise.