London, 7 December 2023 – NTT DATA UK&I, a leading IT services provider and consultancy for the energy and utilities industry, has appointed two new industry experts to help expand its capabilities across the sector. Mark Owen has been announced as Principal Client Manager, Energy Networks, at NTT DATA UK&I, while Ashim Jafarkhan joins the practice as its new Head of Power Systems Services. These appointments solidify NTT DATA UK&I’s continued investment into supporting digital transformation for Energy and Utilities and strengthen its team of industry-leading experts.
Mark Owen joins the team at NTT DATA UK&I with an extensive background in the energy sector. Having started his career as a graduate at the National Grid company, Mark’s career saw him move into the energy supply business and gain experiences in energy trading, risk management, forecasting, pricing and product development at the South Western Electricity PLC, before then moving into consultancy for utilities organisations globally. Prior to joining NTT DATA UK&I, Mark was closely involved with a number of UK Distribution Network Operators (DNOs), advising on their journeys to become Distribution System Operators (DSOs).
Ashim Jafarkhan joins the NTT DATA UK&I team with a wealth of experience in various leadership roles across the energy industry and arrives from his previous role at a leading network and power systems engineering consultancy company in the UK. His previous experience also includes leading the creation of industry technology solutions for the EMEA region for the Energy & Utilities practice at both Cognizant and Infosys, where he forged strong relationships with energy and utilities organisations across the EU and the UK.
Both new hires share a passion for supporting DNOs during the complex transition to become DSOs and enabling these organisations to make better use of their data to address market needs. Moving forward, the new hires will be tasked with establishing NTT DATA UK&I as the go-to partner for power distribution and transformation in the UK, as well as supporting the widespread adoption of renewable energy generation and storage in the UK.
Ashim Jafarkhan commented: “NTT DATA is accelerating change within the energy market, encouraging organisations away from managing physical energy assets and to transform themselves into digitally empowered operators of complex energy ecosystems. I am excited to work with my network of peers at NTT DATA UK&I, particularly in the Cyber Security and Data Analytics space, and expand my relationships with clients and partners in our Energy & Utilities practice. My goal is to deliver value to our clients in their transformation journey to flexible, data-driven solutions and I am confident that my previous experience will help our clients reach their ambitions for the next decade of energy transformation.”
“It’s exciting to be joining an organisation that stands at the forefront of energy innovation,” added Mark Owen. “I’m looking forward to working alongside a team that shares my belief in creating opportunities for sustainable, digital solutions and the potential they hold for market growth. Collaborative efforts are essential to progress, and we have a big challenge on our hands to help drive change for DNOs in their transformational journey to become DSOs.”
Simon Reid, Head of Energy & Utilities at NTT DATA UK&I, commented on the new hires: “We are dedicated to offering our clients a new range of perspectives, combined with deep expertise, so that they can continue to innovate, grow, and deliver on the customer-centric, net zero agenda. With that in mind, we are very pleased to add two seasoned industry experts to our team at NTT DATA UK&I. Both Mark and Ashim have a wealth of knowledge and experience behind them which will help NTT DATA to continue expanding its energy and utilities practice as well as enhance our existing capabilities.”