Meet the NESO Board

Paul has extensive experience in energy and UK industry. He recently stepped down as Chair of the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) and was formerly CEO of E.ON UK, a Non- Executive Director of National Grid plc and Chair of Costain Group plc. 

He previously worked in the science and higher education sectors, as Chair of one the Major Research Councils (EPSRC) and a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. Paul is also Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Fintan Slye is CEO of NESO. He joined NESO in 2018. Prior to this he was CEO of the EirGrid Group, the electricity system and market operator in Ireland and Northern Ireland. He has previously worked for McKinsey & Company and ESB Group. 

Fintan is both a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Ireland and the Energy Institute. He holds a Masters in Engineering Science and an MBA from University College Dublin.

Hannah has extensive experience in economic regulation, most recently as Chief Executive Officer of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

She has been a member of several advisory boards, including the Government Economics Service, the ORR advisory panel and water regulator Ofwat’s Future Regulation advisory panel.

Hannah currently sits on the board of the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authority (CICRA).

Paul is an experienced business leader and strategic thinker now working as Professor of rail strategy at the University of Birmingham and a Non-Executive Director in the housing and energy sectors. Until recently he was CEO of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and Association of Train Operating Companies. Prior to that he was on the Board of Network Rail where responsibilities included the system operator activities. His earlier career spanned the regulated utilities as an economist and adviser working for governments, companies and regulators. 

John has held senior technology roles in Microsoft and Yahoo and was formerly Chief Technology Officer at several companies including BBC and Wood Mackenzie. 

He has been a NED of both FTSE and AIM listed companies since 2012 and is currently on the Board of Brooks Macdonald, an AIM listed Wealth Management company where he is also chair of the Remuneration Committee. He is also Strategic Technology Advisor to the UK Ministry of Defence. 

Janice Crawford is a Chartered Engineer and has had a career stretching from an apprentice in a Glasgow shipyard (where she was the first female apprentice in a British shipyard) to executive and board posts for international engineering and project delivery companies. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2013.

Janice has worked in diverse international companies in the petrochemical, oil and gas, LNG, mining and pharmaceutical related industries, and up until April 2022, Janice was the Director Global Capital Projects for Johnson Matthey, the FTSE 100 global science and chemical company. Janice also served as a Non-Executive Director of the Health and Safety Executive Board for five years. 

Siobhan is an experienced corporate finance professional with specialist expertise in capital markets and structured finance. She joined UK Government Investments' ExCo in Summer 2021 to build a new team tasked with working cross government to increase understanding and improve management of Governments portfolio of contingent risks. 

She has over 20 years experience working in investment banking running business in the UK and the US.  Working at Board and Exec level with the largest European companies, she has led complex projects providing strategic debt advice, and with the largest global debt investors in the development of the private debt market. Siobhan worked with St Mungos as a volunteer outreach worker for a number of years, and has recently moved to take on a role as Trustee at the Carer's Network.

Having been appointed as COO in January 2024, Kayte oversees NESO’s delivery across energy networks and markets and the real time operation of the electricity transmission system. As NESO has transitioned to become the ‘Future System Operator’ (FSO), Kayte’s focus has been on building and embedding a ‘whole system’ approach to the strategic planning and delivery of GB’s energy transition. 

With more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector, Kayte was most recently accountable, for the design and delivery of the FSO on behalf of NESO. She has previously led the Strategy and Markets teams and spent 3 years in Boston with National Grid’s US electricity distribution businesses.

Kayte is a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Jersey Electricity.

Charlie joined the NESO in 2023 and is a chartered public finance accountant. As Chief Finance Officer he is responsible for the financial management of NESO, together with the procurement, property and portfolio management functions. Prior to NESO, Charlie had a career in the UK Government Civil Service including working in HM Treasury in various public spending teams, working as part of the team delivering the London 2012 Olympic Games and latterly as CFO of the Ministry of Defence.

Zoe is an experienced energy and regulatory lawyer having spent 10 years advising a number of the UK National Grid business units. Prior to that she worked at Ofwat as a legal advisor and in 2008 qualified as a solicitor in private practice specialising in competition and procurement law.