Meet the Speaker:

Ben Wilson

Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer Interim President, National Grid Ventures

Ben joined National Grid plc in November 2021 as Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer and in February 2023 was also appointed Interim President, National Grid Ventures. National Grid Ventures is the competitive division of National Grid plc. It has a diverse portfolio of flexible, low carbon and renewable energy businesses across the UK, Europe and US including sub-sea electricity interconnectors, liquefied natural gas, battery storage, and gas, wind and solar power.


Previously, Ben was the Chief Executive Officer of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, one of the largest utility infrastructure businesses in Australia, active in every mainland state and throughout storage, midstream, transmission, distribution and metering. Prior to AGIG, he was the Director of Strategy & Regulation and Chief Financial Officer of UK Power Networks, one of the largest electricity distribution businesses in the UK with 8 million customers. Before moving into industry, Ben spent 15 years as an energy and utilities investment banker, working mostly in Europe and Asia. Ben holds a degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.


Ben has more than 25 years’ experience in the energy sector and has wide international experience, with focus areas including strategy, regulation, external affairs, stakeholder engagement, M&A, innovation and sustainability. Ben has a particular interest in the energy transition and the role of hydrogen. He also has wide general management experience from his time as a CEO.