Senior leader at Octopus Energy highlights graduate talent as driver for opening Coventry office

A senior leader at the UK’s largest electricity supplier has praised graduate talent and skills in Midlands as one of the reasons for setting up a new office in Coventry.

Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Chief Marketing and Product Officer (CMPO) at Octopus Energy, was speaking at the latest Coventry and Warwickshire Champions Event.

Octopus Energy has opened an office in Coventry at Two Friargate after outgrowing its former space in Leamington Spa.

Rebecca, who grew up in Kenilworth and lives in Rugby, spoke to businesses at the event about the ambitions for Octopus, regionally, nationally and globally.

The energy supplier has seen 1.9 million new customers join since the first quarter of 2023. The offices in Coventry are initially hosting 150 staff, across a wide range of roles, with plans to further expand its presence in the city.

She said: “There is always a huge amount of graduate talent in the Midlands, particularly in Coventry with the two universities. There are good transport links and great local authorities to deal with too.

“We are very proud to be here in the Midlands and I will personally make sure that we are here to stay and give as much as we can to this epic part of the world.”

More than 150 people attended the latest Coventry and Warwickshire Champions event, which was held at the Albany Theatre in Coventry.

The event was opened by Nic Erskine, the executive director of CW Champions, and was facilitated by PLMR Advent’s Adam Dent.

David Merideth, chair of The Albany Theatre Trust, and Kevin Shaw, Artistic Director and Chief Executive, spoke first on the morning which was one of the first major business events to be hosted at the theatre since the completion of its latest phase of redevelopment.

They highlighted how the theatre sold more than £1 million value of tickets last year and is set to contribute £4.5 million to the economy this year.

Dent hosted an interview on stage with Dr Isabella Moore CBE, Founder of The Olderpreneur Alliance and Founder/Director of Comtec Translations.

Isabella discussed her career, how she became one of the UK’s leading experts in translation services, President of the British Chamber of Commerce and more recently set up The Olderpreneur Allliance.

The Olderpreneur Alliance is a social enterprise which is dedicated to training, supporting and championing later-life entrepreneurs.

The event closed with a presentation from Mike Murray, Greenpower Park's Project Director and Commercial Real Estate Director at Rigby Real Estate.

He highlighted how Greenpower Park, at Coventry Airport, will be trailblazing centre of excellence for electrification, battery technology and manufacturing, and how the West Midlands Gigafactory is at the heart of the development.

Nic Erskine said: “This was another Champions event with a fantastic, diverse and dynamic range of speakers – all with a link to Coventry and Warwickshire.

“We would like to thank the Albany Theatre for their hospitality and it was great to hear about the incredible work they do in the Coventry community.

“We’d also encourage businesses to find out more about Champions and to get involved with this incredible network that really does shine a light on everything that’s great about our region.”

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