About

Background

Karthik Suresh is a Management Consultant who helps customers with energy, strategy, sustainability and analytics projects. His experience includes working with large and small organisations to select and implement strategic decision systems, improve and develop management and marketing capability and deploy risk management, IT, innovation and information systems projects.

He is a Chartered Engineer with an MEng (Hons) degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering (First) and an MBA (Distinction) from the University of Sheffield.

His experience includes:

• Identifying and developing new business opportunities in the energy and technology space including techno-economic modelling, risk analysis and business case development.
• Evaluating and advising on strategic options and energy management policy for businesses.
• Developing and implementing risk and trade management information systems incorporating real time and closing prices and setting value based, algorithmic and technical trading strategies.
• Selecting and implementing energy data collection, storage, processing and bill validation systems.
• Creating data science systems for commodity and energy analysis and energy analytics including analysing complex contracts, energy consumption data, pricing schedules, operating models and commercial propositions.
• Developing energy Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for activities such as load optimisation and demand response, including coding systems using perl and python on a GNU/Linux environment.
• Creating pan-European and international energy management tools.

About this blog

This is a personal blog for research, thoughts and mental models on management and how organisations can make better strategic choices based on data and analytics.

All content on this blog is personal and should not be taken as representing the views of any employers, universities or social enterprises.

Areas of work

Consultancy

• Provide an information and intelligence service that carries out marketing, research, innovation and knowledge management.
• Work with a network of experts to provide clients with intelligence and expert knowledge on markets, technology, opportunities, customers and competitors.
• Collect market intelligence, carry out flexible market trading, and research and produce reports on the industry and potential clients.
• Undertake ad-hoc consultancy projects and support business development activities.

New Business and Service Development

• Developed new services to address the needs of clients facing liberalised and volatile energy markets since 2004 amidst a background of changing regulation, global supply dynamics and an increasing focus on green growth. In particular these included:
• Energy Risk Management: The provision of comprehensive solutions to address the electricity and gas purchasing needs of industrial and commercial customers.
• Property Portfolio Management: The introduction and development of tools and systems to manage the requirements of managing complex property portfolios.
• Utility Infrastructure Services: The provision of statutory services and connection of distributed generation to networks, supporting the growth of the smart grid.
• Green Initiatives and Legislation: Complying with the changing landscape of carbon regulation, from the Carbon Reduction Commitment to infrastructure projects.
• Smart Grid and Metering: Instrumental in the creation of the technology and services required to participate in opportunities created by the move to a smart grid system.
• Heavily involved in the creation of proposals and sales activity to generate new business. Implemented and oversaw a direct sales campaign and the creation of associated marketing collateral.
• Experience in PR, marketing and setting up an outbound telemarketing team.

Energy Risk Management Services

• Built and managed systems and processes that helped clients manage the risk to their cost base from financial markets and energy trading.
• Over a number of years, instrumental in the decision making and analysis behind the negotiation and placement of over a billion pounds worth of contracts.
• The performance of the portfolio was 15% better than that of the market during the period, resulting in savings of tens of millions of pounds for clients.
• Developed a methodology based on fundamental value analysis, technical analysis and the application of decision making theory.
• Created bespoke probability based scenario modelling and applied rigorous trading disciplines, processes and controls.

Property Portfolio Management

• Developed and procured systems to deal with increasingly complex property portfolios with several thousand sites to collect and manage client data securely.
• The systems routinely process thousands invoices with a value of million of pounds per month.
• Created and tested the service, developed client reporting requirements, recruited and trained a team of operators and managed the service.
• Handled complex queries relating to property energy issues, some taking upwards of two years to resolve and developed processes that now enable the team to routinely manage hundreds of queries across thousands of sites.
• Oversaw the creation of database tools to formalise the systems and assist staff operating and resolving queries.

Strategy and Vision

• Written a a number of briefing notes, analytical papers and research documents for clients ranging from SMEs to PLCs, critically analysing trends, opportunities, challenges and providing strategies and options for the future.
• Authored a 69 page Utility Management Handbook for a major NHS Foundation Trust with an energy expenditure of £7 million used to guide all aspects of utility strategy and management for the Trust’s property, outlining both general principles and specific requirements considered best practice.
• Experience advising and presenting to senior members of management and boards.

Financial Management and Control

• Experience with financial modelling of investment projects and the creation of business cases with Opex and Capex costs, scenario modelling, life-cycle financial impact analysis and risk management.
• Routinely create energy operating budgets for clients managing spends of £2 million to £40 million and the provision of services to monitor variances, forecast out-turns and compensate for changes in the operating environment.
• Significant experience of managing the financial impact of volatile energy markets over the last eight years for a range of clients during the provision of Energy Risk Management Services.
• Risk Management experience gained as a member of the internal audit team for a major gas fired generating plant between 2004 and 2007. Investigated trading activity, gas deliveries, major contracts, IT control environment, supplier and customer transactions among others, looking at key risks and controls and carrying out tests and reporting on findings to the Board.