Life at ENSEK: A ten-year anniversary Q&A with Richard Hill, Head of Product, Data & Reporting

With 13 years of experience in the energy industry and a wealth of knowledge in accounting in the sector, we knew that Rich Hill, now Head of Product, Data & Reporting, would be an invaluable asset to ENSEK. And when we approached him in 2014, we were lucky enough to be able to enrol him to help with the company’s rapid growth. 

Ten years later, Rich reflects on his role at ENSEK, how he’s helped develop the company, and the challenges and opportunities he encountered on the way.

Can you start by telling us a little bit about you?

Helo! I come from beautiful Pontypool, in Monmouthshire, Wales, and am a fluent Welsh speaker. My academic path led me from Rhydfelyn Welsh Comprehensive, where I was educated, to completing a degree in Philosophy at Swansea University, before embarking on a career in the energy sector. 

I now live near Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire. I’m an active person and when I’m not exploring the outdoors in my caravan or on my motorbike, you might find me hiking through beautiful landscapes. But my passions don’t stop here. I’m also a history and politics enthusiast and love hard rock and metal music, as well as video games.

Rich, you have now been at ENSEK for ten years and have become an invaluable member of the team. But how did you first join?

I had been working at E.ON, in Nottingham, for 13 years when I was approached by ENSEK. It was 2014, and I was already familiar with ENSEK because I had worked with some of the company’s founders on a major revenue assurance project.

ENSEK invited me to enhance its energy retailer data reconciliation platform, Libra, with my accounting expertise. The aim was to drive the expansion of the product so that it could support financial accounting use cases, as well as margin assurance ones.

Today you are our Head of Product, Data & Reporting. What was your first role? 

Today ENSEK is a large company: just a few months ago we hired 43 new people. But when I first joined, there were only about 12 people and it was a tight-knit team, with people performing multiple roles in order to secure the company’s growth.

At first, I had a hybrid role. As the Head of Finance, I was responsible for running ENSEK’s internal management accounting processes. Alongside this, I was very involved in sales as we promoted our Libra platform to energy retailers. I was also responsible for creating the requirements for a gross margin accounting model and building a finance service to make the most of Libra’s modelling capability.

Can you share some milestones for ENSEK from the last ten years?

There have been some memorable moments over the years that have been important to ENSEK’s growth. For example, signing our first customer in the energy finance sector in early 2015 was key to expanding our business and being able to invest in greater product capability. 

In 2016, we pivoted the business away from data reconciliation and financial modelling services to become an energy retail SaaS provider, covering online sales, market communications, customer management, billing, and payment processing. This was the genesis of our current platform, Ignition. As a result, ENSEK was able to acquire a significant proportion of new entrants into the retail market in the following years.

In 2017, we signed up British Gas as a subscriber to Ignition. This was a trial for an online-first proposition for the SME segment of their portfolio. It was also the first tier 1 customer on the ENSEK platform. We were able to demonstrate improved customer outcomes and reduced cost to serve with Ignition, which was a major proof point for our products and services. This led to broader engagement with British Gas, which eventually decided to migrate its entire retail portfolio onto Ignition.

How has ENSEK changed in ten years?

The most obvious change is in the size and maturity of the business. We now have several hundred employees who are located throughout the UK and further afield. There is a huge variety in the roles we now need to support the business, and we have many specialists with deep domain experience whose roles did not exist in the early company structure. 

The scope and scale of the services we now offer has also developed beyond recognition. We now provide an enterprise SaaS solution to the largest retailer in our market, among others, and all aspects of the business had to develop and mature to make this possible.

But while our capabilities, processes, and policies have undergone significant change and improvement over time, we have always strived to maintain our original culture. The togetherness, can-do attitude, autonomy, and professionalism that we set out with have been instrumental in shaping our company's current values and standards. This connects us to our past, even if much else has now changed.

Can you share any personal milestones from the last ten years?

There are many moments that stand out from a personal perspective. My first day at ENSEK coincided with us moving into our own office building for the first time. I remember being presented with a beer at my desk at lunchtime to celebrate the occasion, and thinking: “Is every day going to be like this?”

Within two weeks of joining, I was meeting an independent energy retailer’s entire finance team to explain the benefits of our approach to data modelling and financial reporting. It was nerve wracking, but I had the support of the leadership team in the room with me. The session was a great success, and we subsequently signed up the retailer as the first adopter of our finance services, so I must have done a decent job!

The amount of time we spent out on the road in the early days resulted in some memorable trips. One winter, we went to visit a client in Scotland. We travelled the day before the meeting, staying in a local hotel overnight. However, on our way to the meeting the next day, we skidded off the road in snowy conditions on a remote road. Nobody was hurt but we had to wait several hours to be rescued. Suffice to say the meeting did not go ahead. For the record, I was not the driver!

I’ve worked with several colleagues over the years who have become good friends. Through one of these friendships, I was recently able to participate in a charity Gumball Rally across the amazing scenery of the Lake District. With my Product Manager in the navigator’s seat, we spent two days finding our way to each of the waypoints, often on obscure single-track lanes, and completing the challenges the organisers set out. We had a great time at the evening events and came close to getting a podium finish at the final award ceremony. It’s certainly an experience that will live long in my memory.

How has your role changed in these ten years?

My role now is Head of Product, Data & Reporting for our Data and Reporting Team, which also has a seat on the ENSEK Technology Senior Leadership Team. 

In 2017, I stepped away from ENSEK’s internal management accounting to focus on developing our finance reporting capability and managing the Energy Accounting team that delivers our month-end close service to Ignition customers.

In the last few years, I have taken a more product-led role, and I am now responsible for setting the strategic direction for the Data team. This includes developing a long-term roadmap in line with our strategic priorities, and coordinating across the team and the wider business to ensure we hit our objectives.

One of the biggest changes to my role has been moving away from being a pure subject matter expert, and towards a leadership role. This has been challenging but has given me a great opportunity to contribute more widely to the business.

I remain a chartered management accountant, but I didn’t anticipate being in a senior product role at a software company when I qualified many years ago.

After ten years at ENSEK, you’re about to enjoy a well-earned sabbatical. What are you looking forward to doing?

In the last two years, my wife Lindsay and I have introduced a dog into the household, and we’ve bought a caravan for the first time. The first part of my sabbatical will be a tour of Yorkshire in the van accompanied by Darcy the Dachshund, during which we will be travelling to Durham, Scarborough and York.

I don’t have any firm plans for the remainder of the month just yet, but will likely be visiting family back in Wales and spending some time at home. It’s been over 12 years since I had more than two weeks away from work, so I am looking forward to the downtime and to spending time with family and friends.

Interested in joining the ENSEK team? To learn more about opportunities for career development at ENSEK, head to our careers page, or get in touch with the team.