Stephen Speed
Biography
Stephen Speed is Director of Energy Development at DECC, looking after UK oil and gas reserves including new shale gas plays, the environmental regulation of offshore oil and gas activity and the management of the legacy of former nationalised coal mining activities. His team also advises Ministers on major energy infrastructure planning consent decisions.
From July 2013 to February 2014, Stephen was Acting Director General, International Climate Change and Energy Efficiency at the Department for Energy and Climate Change, leading on international climate change negotiations as well as delivering key energy efficiency programmes at home, including the Green Deal, Smart Meters and Renewable Heat Incentives.
Before joining DECC, Stephen was Inspector General and Chief Executive of The Insolvency Service. The Service oversaw the administration of personal bankruptcies, statutory redundancy payments and the investigation of corporate and personal financial misconduct, securing well over a thousand director disqualifications every year.
Previously Stephen has had a varied career in the Department of Trade and Industry and its successors, leading on regional economic development, telecoms regulation and broadband rollout and funding policy for the UK’s science and research base.
In 2010, Stephen was elected chair of the Association of Chief Executives (ACE), the professional body for chief executives working in government arms’-length bodies. He was also appointed Vice Chair of the International Association of Insolvency Regulators (IAIR), the international body that brings together insolvency regulators around the world.
Previous roles in government
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Director General, Energy Efficiency and Heat, DECC