Simon Virley CB FEI

Vice Chair and Head of Energy and Natural Resources

KPMG in the UK

Simon is a Partner and UK Head of Energy and Natural Resources at KPMG. He advises clients on strategy, regulation and deals in the UK energy market.

Previously, he was the Director-General for Energy Markets and Infrastructure at the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change between 2009-15. In that role, he had responsibility for advice to the Government on:

  • oil and gas,
  • renewables (including solar), 
  • nuclear,
  • Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS),
  • retail markets, 
  • decentralised energy
  •  energy security issues.

He led the work on the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) Programme under the Coalition Government (2010-15) and was the Government expert witness to the CMA inquiry at the end of 2014.  

Simon was awarded a Companion of the Bath (CB) in the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his work on UK energy supply and energy security issues.  He is also a Fellow of the Energy Institute (FEI), on the Executive Council of the Parliamentary Group on Energy Studies (PGES), and on the Board of the University of Sheffield Energy 2050 Programme.    

  • Corporate Tax
  • Energy and Natural Resources
  • Financial Services
  • Government reform
  • Power and Utilities
  • Public Policy and Regulatory Change
  • Tax

  • MSc Economics, London School of Economics and Political Sciences

  • Master of Arts Politics, Philosophy and Economics, University of Oxford

  • Fellow of the Energy Institute