One of the things I’ve always valued about working in energy is how much there is to learn from the people around you. It’s an industry full of smart people solving complex problems but some of the most useful conversations happen when we get out of our own organisations and compare notes. That was the idea behind creating our community: The Energy Edge.

In June, we brought senior leaders from across energy retail, technology and consulting together at the iconic Barbican Centre in London. We talked about everything from margin and data to innovation, AI and the changing operating model of the energy retailer. What made the day work wasn’t simply the programme, although it was packed full of great presentations and insights. It was the willingness of people in the room to share what was working, what wasn’t and where they were still searching for answers.

We’ve tried to carry that conversation beyond the event itself. The first Energy Edge magazine brings together perspectives from across the community, alongside deeper analysis of many of the questions raised in June. It also shares findings from our first Energy Margin Intelligence Index, bringing independent research into the conversation around how retailers understand and manage margin. The intention is that the community provides both things I value in my professional network; opportunities to exchange ideas face-to-face and access to useful thinking that continues between those meetings, fuelling greater collaboration among peers.

We’ll be bringing the community together again on Tuesday 17th November at King’s Place, this time to explore the agentic frontier: how energy retailers move from understanding performance, to acting on it and, eventually, towards governed automation.

I’m particularly looking forward to that conversation because nobody has all the answers yet. And that, ultimately, is where a good professional community earns its value, not by pretending it does but by gathering people who can work through the questions collectively. I hope you’ll be a part of that journey with us.

Ruben Van den Bossche

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Sign up for our next The Energy Edge event: https://www.gorilla.co/events/the-energy-edge-agentic-frontier