Meet Fuel Bank
the trustees
We are governed by our Board of Trustees. They are responsible for our strategic direction and for the management, governance and conduct of the charity. All of our trustees are volunteers and bring with them invaluable skills, experience and insight which helps to support and direct our work.
HELEN ADEY
Chair of Trustees & Settlement Services Director, Elexon
Helen has been Chair of Trustees since 1st November 2022. She currently works at Elexon, a data and technology not for profit organisation that has various roles in the electricity industry including managing the balancing and settlement code; delivering services in settlement and industry payments and being the implementation manager for the Market-Wide Half Hourly Settlement Programme. Helen is the Senior Responsible Owner for the MHHS Programme and has recently taken on further accountabilities for EMRS and delivering settlement operations to the industry.
Previously Helen held safety, assurance and environment roles on the executive at National Grid Gas Transmission (now National Gas) and prior to that had a long career with one of the big 6 suppliers where she was responsible for the assurance of npower’s compliance with its obligations and licence conditions. This responsibility included supporting npower in its conduct towards customers in vulnerable situations – whether that was ensuring that standards were maintained when complying with obligations that support customers in payment difficulties or more generally supporting good outcomes for customers.
Helen is a long-term advocate for driving change across the energy industry to make life better for people living in Fuel Crisis and draws on her experience in the energy sector, in particular her experience of working with vulnerable customers, to help shape the strategic direction of the charity.
LAURA HAWKSWORTH
Head of Policy and Impact, Careers and Enterprise Company
Laura was appointed as a Trustee in February 2018. Laura’s career has been in strategy, change and social impact. She is currently Head of Policy and Impact at the Careers and Enterprise Company, the national body for careers education in England. Their mission is to help every young person find their best next step and secure better outcomes for their future. Before that she was a Senior Advisor at Charities Aid Foundation.
Laura brings over 20 years’ experience as a strategy consultant and advisor, solving problems for clients with a focus on social and business impact and innovation. Her valuable skill set in strategy and impact enables her to use simple logic models to create focus and deliver change.
She has been on the Fuel Bank journey since the outset, and is inspired to see how powerful and impactful it can be having a clear vision, combined with robust research and insight into the lives of our clients, to highlight the actions that are needed to drive change.
For Laura, Fuel Crisis is an issue that is close to home and family. She believes that we all deserve to be able to keep our homes warm, keep the hot water flowing and essential appliances running.
Laura is passionate about using her skills, enthusiasm and experience to help support and drive real impact for our client group. With her wealth of experience, she is focussed on ensuring that our clients remain at the heart of decision making to drive and deliver change with policy-makers and parliamentarians, and promote better standards of support from the energy sector.
Nikki Zamblera
Former Executive Director HR
Nikki began working with the Fuel Bank Foundation in 2020 and became a Trustee in November 2022. She brings extensive experience of the corporate world as well as knowledge of the charity sector having established charitable Foundations for both Debenhams plc and the Watches of Switzerland Group plc.
Nikki was Executive Director HR for Watches of Switzerland Group plc for 5 years and prior to that served as Executive Director HR for Debenhams plc for 13 years. She began her career at Selfridges plc and also held executive roles with Revlon International and Polo Ralph Lauren.
Nikki is passionate about the purpose of the Fuel Bank Foundation and brings a valuable people and commercial focus to the Trustee board.
the team
Matt Cole
CEO, Fuel Bank Foundation
Matt Cole is the driving force behind Fuel Bank Foundation, the UK’s only charity dedicated to supporting people living in fuel crisis. Since its launch in 2015, the charity has provided essential support to almost 2 million people, ensuring they have access to warmth, light, and the energy they need.
Fuel crisis affects those who have fallen through every safety net, leaving them unable to heat their homes, cook meals, or power essential appliances. Under Matt’s leadership, Fuel Bank Foundation not only provides emergency financial support but also offers long-term solutions through practical money and energy advice, helping people regain stability. Recognising that fuel poverty stems from deeper systemic issues, Matt is a passionate advocate for policy and regulatory reform. Through campaigning and lobbying, he works to unite the Government, energy providers, and industry bodies like Ofgem to push for lasting change and end fuel crisis in the UK for good.
With a long-standing career in the energy sector, Matt has helped companies develop and implement innovative strategies to support vulnerable customers. Previously, he led npower’s home and small business response to evolving public policy plus defining and commissioning services to support npower customers most in need. A policy-geek at heart and a big fan of net zero Matt uses lived experience to influence and shape government strategies, and to drive a renewed focus on delivering great customer outcomes back across the energy and utilities sector, his passion being that all can and should benefit from the energy transition. Matt chairs the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel, is a member of SP Energy Networks Independent Net Zero Advisory Council, and encourages incremental change to deliver better customer outcomes through membership of challenge and working groups across the wider sector.
A passionate story teller and a recognised expert on energy and fuel poverty, Matt frequently travels the country raising awareness of the issue of fuel crisis, campaigning for systemic change and securing advocacy for Fuel Bank. Matt is a regular guest on national and regional TV and radio, where he provides expert insights on the energy crisis, and practical solutions that households can adopt, whilst championing the need for urgent action to address the root cause of fuel crisis and fuel poverty.
Ros Kane
Head of Governance
Ros has an extensive career in the energy industry, specialising in support for people in potentially vulnerable circumstances, she has been involved with Fuel Bank since 2016. The understanding gained from the experience of people in fuel crisis, has driven the strategy she has implemented which has resulted in the Fuel Bank Foundation.
Sarah Newman
Change Consultant
Sarah began her project management career working on deregulation of the energy sector over 25 years ago. Working on a national programme, which gave customers choice on who they wanted to supply their electricity, was hugely exciting and required a colossal amount of system and process development. And most importantly collaboration between all incumbent suppliers for the first time.
Looking back, Sarah says Fuel Crisis wasn’t a ‘thing’ back then, at least not that she was present to. She was aware of pre-payment meters and commercial disconnections for non-payment but she could never have fathomed that vulnerable people would be sitting in the dark, freezing cold 25 years later.
Working for Fuel Bank has opened Sarah’s eyes to how awful living day to day is for some people in the UK. She is so proud to have managed projects which have enabled Fuel Bank to extend the support they give to people in Fuel Crisis and she hopes to work on many more. Particularly those which focus on developing longer-term solutions, with both the support and energy sectors, so that Fuel Crisis becomes a thing of the past.
Ruth Hudson
Network Quality and Delivery Manager
As Fuel Bank Operations Manager, Ruth is driven by a deep passion for supporting individuals and creating meaningful change. With a career rooted in the charitable sector, she has dedicated herself to improving the world around her.
Since joining the Fuel Bank Foundation in 2020, she has had the privilege of seeing our network of Fuel Banks grow from a small number of organisations to an extensive network of partners across the UK. In her role, she leads a talented operations team and manages the quality of our partner network, ensuring the smooth coordination and execution of our Fuel Bank schemes.
Collaborating with passionate individuals across the Fuel Bank network who share a common goal of alleviating fuel crisis-related hardships, Ruth is inspired by our collective dedication to creating sustainable solutions.
One of her proudest achievements is being honoured with the ‘Customer Focus’ award at the Young Energy Professional awards in 2021. This recognition reflects her firm commitment to ensuring the needs and well-being of our clients remain at the forefront of everything we do. Ruth believes that by maintaining a strong focus on delivering tailored support, we can effectively address the challenges faced by individuals experiencing Fuel Crisis.
Ruth says she feels honoured to be a part of the Fuel Bank Foundation, an organization that shares her values and commitment to improving lives. She is excited to continue working with the team and our partners towards a future where no one experiences the burden of Fuel Crisis.
Chris Holton
Chris holds a degree in data analysis and has great knowledge for anything number related. He provides support by analysing customer data, identifying trends and translating the numbers into plain English to help Fuel Bank make better business decisions. Chris is keen to use his skills so as many people as possible know they can turn to Fuel Bank for help when in a fuel crisis.
Siobhan Doyle
Head of Impact
Siobhan has been involved with Fuel Bank Foundation since inception after previously working in public affairs for a number of different energy companies.
Her favourite things about working at Fuel Bank are the difference we make, that no two days are ever the same and the amazing people she gets to work with.
Siobhan chose to work for Fuel Bank because she shares its ambition to tackle inequalities in the UK. It’s wrong that, in this day and age, some people regularly don’t have enough money to heat and light their homes – something that most of us just take for granted. She finds it incredibly rewarding to be playing a small part in changing that.
Siobhan has spent her career to date working in the energy industry. This is her first role in the charitable sector, so it’s been a bit of a steep learning curve! But she really loves blending her experience gained from working in a commercial organisation with charitable values and using the best aspects of each.
Holly Tinsley
Central Support Manager
Holly has been an integral part of our team since November 2020, overseeing the onboarding of new partners to become part of our Fuel Bank network. She manages the partner setup process, organises comprehensive training, and ensures that our partners are strategically placed in the right areas, to deliver services to those who need our support.
Holly is also responsible for maintaining high-quality standards, ensuring that partners understand the referral process, and align with our core principles when referring clients.
In addition to managing partner relations, Holly oversees key operational functions for Fuel Bank. With over 16 years of experience in the energy industry, she brings a wealth of expertise and dedication to her role, contributing to the success and efficiency of the charity.
Our Panels
We set up two advisory panels to assist us in achieving our vision for the UK, and to advocate for change.
Challenge Panel
We’ve teamed up with a group of independent experts in relevant fields that complement the Foundation’s purpose, this includes people from Citizens Advice, Ofgem, The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Money & Mental Health Policy Institute, Energy UK and the Committee on Fuel Poverty.
The Challenge Panel use their expertise to provide additional input, insight and supportive scrutiny to guide us on our delivery, advocacy and influencing activity.
They also provide us with external perspectives to complement existing governance, as we strive to achieve our vision of a UK where everyone has access to energy to stay warm, well and clean.
The Panel meets three times a year to discuss the Foundation’s future strategy and to offer guidance and support.
Members of the Challenge Panel are:
Dhara Vyas, Deputy CEO, Energy UK
Gillian Cooper, Director of Energy, Citizens Advice
Helen Undy, CEO, Money & Mental Health Policy Institute
David Newton, Policy Manager, Consumers and Engagement, DESNZ
Teresa Perchard, Consumer Affairs, Policy and Advocacy Expert
John French, Chief Executive, Utility Regulator, Northern Ireland
Jonathon Stamp, Independent Energy Consultant, ex-Director at npower
Anthony Pygram, Independent Consultant, ex-Director at CMA & Ofgem
Mark McAllister, Chair, Ofgem
Victoria Mustard, Head of Gas Markets, NESO
Expert Panel
We use research and insight to better inform our charitable aims. It allows us to make sure the needs of the people we help are met and that the reality of their situation is represented in our campaigning and influencing work. It also helps us understand the scale of the issues associated with Fuel Crisis and the solutions that are needed.
Having these meaningful conversations with clients and our partners allows us to capture lived experience and collate actionable insight. Their evidence and recommendations give us a clear, authoritative, and authentic voice when we are advocating for change. It is fundamental to everything we do and allows us to represent the people we support, drive change with policy-makers and parliamentarians and promote better standards of support from the energy sector.
