Ian Merchant: Top British Energy Executive

Ian Merchant was born on February 9, 1961 in Croydon. He went to the independent Trinity School of John Whitgift. Later he earned a BA in Economics at the University of Durham.

From 1983 to 1992, Ian was an accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 1992 he joined Southern Electric, which later became Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) in 1998. Rising through the ranks Ian at the age of 41 became the CEO of SSE in 2002. The firm has around 9.5 million electricity and gas consumers.

Ian held this position until June 30, 2013 when he officially resigned. His £1 million bonus did get in the news considering the fact that he was already resigning. He actually waived some future bonuses that were supposed to be awarded to him. Towards the end of his 10 year leadership role there had been complaints about higher energy charges and doorstep mis-selling.

Yet the experience he has in the industry means he is still in high demand. He was recently appointed a non-director of aerial “drone” firm Cyberhaw Innovations.