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Cordelia O’Hara OBE FEI: oration

Read Furong Li's oration on Cordelia O’Hara for the honorary degree of Doctor of Business Administration in January 2025.


Speech

Cordelia O’Hara OBE FEI
Cordelia O’Hara OBE FEI

Vice-Chancellor, the energy sector is fundamental in achieving net zero transition, rapid innovation and transformative societal change. In the midst of the complexity and challenge of modernising energy systems, Cordi O’Hara OBE has forged her remarkable career, becoming the most influential and inspiring female leader in the energy sector of our time.

Trained in law at the University of Manchester, Cordi began her career in the gas industry, progressing through senior commercial and operational positions, including Director of Trading, Head of Asset Optimisation, and Director of Origination. After 16 years with Centrica, the UK’s largest gas and electricity supplier, she moved to National Grid in 2014.

Her impact at National Grid has been extraordinary. From overseeing the UK’s Electricity Market and Systems Operations, to leading the company’s U.S operations as Chief Operating Officer before returning to the UK to lead National Grid Ventures - the commercial arm of National Grid that builds and operates the largest portfolio of subsea electricity interconnectors via joint ventures with European System Operators. Cordi excelled in driving radical innovation to accelerate the decarbonisation of the power sector, paving the way for rapid decarbonisation of the wider economy.

Cordi became a fellow of the UK Energy Institute in 2016, and most recently Vice President and Honorary Secretary. Her outstanding contribution in the UK and Europe was recognised for her leadership in introducing decarbonised energy markets, and bringing clean technologies and demand response to deliver affordable and just energy. In 2019, Cordi was awarded an OBE for her remarkable services to the energy industry.

In 2023, Cordi once again broke new ground, and became the first ever female President of National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED). Leading the UK’s largest electricity distribution network, Cordi’s mission is to enable a clean, fair and affordable net zero transition to over 20 million people across the midlands, South West and South Wales. From this platform, she is driving a wave of systematic changes throughout the culture, structure, strategy, operation and planning of the electricity industry on behalf of customers and local communities.

Partnership has been core to Cordi’s approach, driving strong, secure, clean growth for a fairer and greener future. Within the first year under her visionary leadership, National Grid has established innovative and enduring partnerships with hundreds of local authorities, as well as bringing together strategic alliances with other industrial leaders. Cordi’s natural strength to corral and galvanise people and resources across traditional boundaries, disciplines and generations, has been key to creating high-impact coalitions across the economy to collectively tackling society’s most testing energy challenges.

This collaborative nature and commitment to innovation have led to significant successes in her first 12 months of leadership. Through partnerships, the process for upgrading electrical fuses has been streamlined and sped up, enabling customers to play their part in reaching net zero. Leading coalitions have reduced connection times for renewable generation installations by an average of six years. Innovations in distribution system operation and markets have tripled the volume of connected devices, harnessing new low carbon technologies to provide greater flexibility for customers in her service territory. These achievements underscore the scale of Cordi’s impact and leadership - a real testament to her ability to make the seemingly impossible possible. Her missiondriven leadership is particularly suited to harness and align resources across multiple organisations quickly and flexibly, critical to deliver the UK’s ambition Clean Power 2030 Mission to lower energy bill, boost clean growth and drive national prosperity.

Cordi is a champion for academic excellence and supports the University of Bath to develop the world’s first open, modular and interoperable whole energy system modelling platform. A key purpose is to substantially increase the wider energy sector’s access to open, transparent data, models and evidence, driving a shared vision and co-changes across the economy to create a mutually beneficial ecosystem fit for the future.

Beyond the boardroom, Cordi is a passionate advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion in the energy sector and beyond, working tirelessly to ensure female brain power is better represented in senior engineering and management positions. She strongly believes that diversity is the key to long-term businesses success, economic growth, and achieving net zero. Not only does Cordi promote these values, but she also lives them too, with her own executive team comprising over 70% female leaders.

In honouring Cordi O’Hara, we celebrate a leader who operates at the top of her game. She embodies courage, vision and a profound sense of purpose. She embraces diversity, collaboration and harnesses the unique contributions that women bring to the energy industry, unlocking innovation through co-creation.

Vice-Chancellor, with contributions strongly aligning with the mission of the University of Bath to advance knowledge, innovation and societal good: Generatim Discite Cultus, Cordi O’Hara OBE is eminently worthy to receive the degree of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa.

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