1Energy has appointed John Roundell as Chief Financial Officer and Jim Lightfoot as Chair of the Board, strengthening its leadership team as the company accelerates delivery of heat networks across UK cities. 

The appointments come as 1Energy advances a development pipeline worth more than £700 million across cities including Bradford, Milton Keynes, Exeter, Oxford, Derby and Sunderland, with plans to deploy £1 billion of capital into low-carbon heat infrastructure across the UK over the next eight years. 

Privately funded and delivered without the need for council or community capital, 1Energy’s heat networks provide one of the fastest, lowest-cost routes for towns and cities to decarbonise heat at scale and meet net zero targets. 

John Roundell brings more than 20 years’ experience across the energy and utilities sector, with deep financial, operational and commercial expertise. He joins from Squeaky Clean Energy, where he served as Finance and Operations Director, and has previously held senior finance leadership roles including CFO and FD positions at Ørsted, Equity Energies and Opus Energy, as well as spending more than a decade at E.ON UK. 

His experience includes leading businesses through periods of growth and transformation, with a strong focus on performance improvement, strategic development and building high-performing teams. 

Jim Lightfoot joins as Chair of the Board, bringing more than 35 years’ experience across the global energy industry. He has held senior executive and board roles across major utilities, private equity-backed companies and multinational energy businesses, including serving as CEO of international generation business InterGen during a critical transition period and as COO of E.ON’s worldwide generation business. 

His experience spans large-scale energy infrastructure, corporate governance and organisational transformation across multiple international markets. 

As Chair, he will work closely with the board and leadership team to help refine strategy, strengthen governance and support the company through its next phase of growth as it scales delivery across multiple UK cities. 

John Roundell, Chief Financial Officer at 1Energy, said: 

“In many ways, this feels like coming full circle. Early in my career at E.ON, I was involved in the formative stages of the UK heat network market. Since then, I’ve built up broad experience as a financial director across the energy sector, and I’m excited to now bring that experience to 1Energy. The opportunity to help scale a business that is delivering real, practical decarbonisation at city level is hugely compelling, and I look forward to working with such a highly experienced, sector-leading team to help deliver sustainable growth and impact.” 

Jim Lightfoot, Chair of the Board at 1Energy, said: 

“1Energy has built a strong platform and a clear opportunity to deliver low-carbon heat infrastructure at scale across UK cities. Heat networks will play a critical role in decarbonising urban areas, and I look forward to working with the board and leadership team to guide the business through its next phase of growth.” 

The appointments mark the first two of three new board-level hires planned by 1Energy, with a new Chief Executive Officer expected to be announced in Q2. 

Emma Tinker, CIO at Asper Investment Management, and 1Energy’s Board member, said: 

“We are delighted to welcome both John and Jim to 1Energy. John’s financial and operational leadership, combined with Jim’s extensive experience guiding major energy businesses and boards through periods of growth and transformation, will be invaluable as the company scales. These appointments further strengthen the leadership team and underline our shared ambition to build a scalable platform capable of delivering low-carbon heat infrastructure at pace across the UK.”