GROUP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Group Executive Committee implements SSE’s purpose, vision and strategy through day-to-day operations and executive management of SSE’s businesses.
Read more about our strategy and what we do
Group Executive Committee Team

Alistair Phillips-Davies
Chief Executive +
Alistair Phillips-Davies
Chief ExecutiveCareer and experience
Alistair joined SSE in 1997 and possesses extensive knowledge of the Group having held senior roles across multiple business areas. Prior to joining the Board in 2002 as Energy Supply Director, Alistair was Director of Corporate Finance and Business Development. In 2010, he became Generation and Supply Director, before Deputy Chief Executive in 2012, then Chief Executive in 2013. Alistair is a fellow of the Energy Institute and a former Vice President of Eurelectric. He is a Chartered Accountant.

Gregor Alexander
Finance Director +
Gregor Alexander
Finance DirectorCareer and experience
Gregor joined SSE in 1990 and has been Finance Director on the Board since 2002. Prior to Finance Director, Gregor worked in senior finance roles and led specialist teams including as Group Treasurer and Tax Manager. Gregor is Chair of the Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution Board. He is a Chartered Accountant and member of the Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) CFO Leadership Network.

Martin Pibworth
Chief Commercial Officer +
Martin Pibworth
Chief Commercial OfficerCareer and experience
Martin joined SSE in 1998 as an energy trader, which was followed by a series of commercial roles before becoming Managing Director, Energy Portfolio Management, and a member of SSE’s then Management Board in 2012. In 2014, he was appointed Managing Director, Wholesale, and a member of SSE’s Group Executive Committee. In 2017 he joined the Board as Group Energy Director, a role which was expanded to Group Energy and Commercial Director in November 2020. This role was subsequently re-titled Chief Commercial Officer in March 2022, with no change in underlying responsibility or remit.

Catherine Raw
Managing Director, SSE Thermal +
Catherine Raw
Managing Director, SSE ThermalCatherine has been MD of SSE Thermal since April 2022, bringing with her extensive operational and commercial experience from her previous roles in the international mining firm Barrick Gold where she was both Chief Operating Officer for North America and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to this Catherine was a Managing Director and Fund Manager at BlackRock, one of the world’s largest fund management companies.

Chris Burchell
Managing Director, SSEN Distribution +
Chris Burchell
Managing Director, SSEN DistributionCareer and experience
Chris has been MD, SSEN Distribution since November 2020, having joined SSE from Arriva where he was MD, UK Trains since 2014. He began his career at Railtrack in 1996 and following a period as an official in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, joined the Go-Ahead Group, where he was Director of Operations, Thames Trains and Managing Director for the Southern rail franchise.

Rob McDonald
Managing Director, SSEN Transmission +
Rob McDonald
Managing Director, SSEN TransmissionCareer and experience
Rob has been MD, SSEN Transmission since April 2019, having joined SSE in 1997 and holding a number of senior roles within the Group Regulation function. Prior to his current position, he was MD, Corporate and Business Services covering Legal, Regulation, Compliance, Safety and Large Capital Projects Services across SSE.

Stephen Wheeler
Managing Director, SSE Renewables +
Stephen Wheeler
Managing Director, SSE RenewablesCareer and experience
Stephen has been MD, SSE Renewables since January 2022 having previously held the roles of MD, SSE Thermal and MD, SSE Ireland. Prior to SSE, he was part of the management team that grew the Airtricity renewable energy platform before SSE acquired it in 2008. Before joining Airtricity, he spent over 10 years working with ABB and Siemens internationally.

Sam Peacock
Director of Corporate Affairs and Strategy +
Sam Peacock
Director of Corporate Affairs and StrategyCareer and experience
Sam has been Director of Corporate Affairs and Strategy since April 2020 and leads SSE’s teams overseeing government relations, policy development, employee communications, external affairs, corporate brand and project communications. Prior to joining SSE in 2011, Sam directed government affairs at Ofgem and worked at leading communications agency Edelman, as well as in Parliament and in Government.

John Stewart
Director of HR +
John Stewart
Director of HRCareer and experience
John has been Director of HR since joining SSE in July 2009. Prior to this he worked in a broad range of senior management roles in the energy and water sectors and has experience of working in both the UK and in the US. He oversees all areas in relation to SSE’s people including talent and capability, training and development, employee engagement and inclusion and diversity.

Liz Tanner
General Counsel +
Liz Tanner
General CounselCareer and experience
Liz is a barrister and has been Group General Counsel since March 2019, having joined SSE in 2002 as part of the acquisition of Neos Networks. Since joining SSE, Liz has held a variety of legal and commercial roles within a number of different SSE Group companies and currently oversees the corporate functions of Legal, Regulation, Compliance, Data Protection and Large Capital Project Services.

Sally Fairbairn
Company Secretary and Director of Investor Relations +
Sally Fairbairn
Company Secretary and Director of Investor RelationsCareer and experience
Sally joined SSE in 1997 as a chartered accountant working in the Corporate Finance team. Through this role, which included responsibility for long-term financial modelling of the SSE Group, she developed knowledge of the SSE’s diverse operations and the UK energy industry. In 2007, Sally became Director of Investor Relations and Analysis allowing her to develop extensive experience of the shareholder and financial analyst community, and through associated engagement, has detailed understanding of investor views. Sally was appointed to the joint role of Company Secretary and Director of Investor Relations in December 2014.