Gavin Patterson, the former BT Group chief, is to chair the technology arm of Britain’s fastest-growing major domestic energy supplier.
Sky News can reveal Mr Patterson has been appointed chairman of Kraken Technologies, which is part of Octopus Energy Group.
Kraken, which is a cloud-based technology platform that automates swathes of the energy supply chain, has grown rapidly in recent years and is now contracted to serve 40m customer accounts across the UK, US, Japan, Australia and parts of Europe.
The company said it had the potential to grow that figure to 50m in the near term – meaning it would be halfway to the company’s goal of 100m customer accounts on Kraken by 2027.
Kraken connects all parts of the energy system, including customer billing and the flexible management of renewable generation and energy devices such as heat pumps and electric vehicle batteries.
It also unlocks smart grids which enable people to use more renewable energy when there is an abundant supply of it.
Octopus Energy was Kraken’s first client, and it now has licensing deals with companies including Australia’s Origin Energy, Japan’s Tokyo Gas, and E.ON, EDF and Good Energy in the UK.
It has also branched out to other utility sectors, including the water and the broadband industry.
Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy Group, said: “Kraken is now a major competitor to traditional enterprise software companies.
“[Mr Patterson’s] career as CEO of one of the biggest public utilities in Europe, and subsequent leadership roles at Salesforce and other technology companies brings huge experience to help us accelerate product delivery and growth on a global scale.”
Mr Patterson said he had been “following the impressive work and growth of Kraken for the past few years”.
“Its relentless focus on innovation and speed has already changed the face of energy, and now it’s disrupting other industries too.
“I’m incredibly proud to have joined the Kraken team to further unleash its power, helping to build a global smart energy system based on renewable energy.”
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The former BT chief executive’s appointment comes just weeks after Octopus named Giles Andrews, a co-founder of the lender Zopa, as chairman of its EV division.
Octopus Energy recently announced the acquisition of Shell Energy Retail – a deal that will, once completed, see it become a credible challenger to British Gas, the market leader.
