WUN4ALL
WUN's mission is to help women to connect with other women, so they can share learnings, build confidence, and develop their own passion for the fast moving utilities space. Through our podcast episodes, we aim to provide our listeners with the skills they need to build long-lasting and fulfilling careers in the sector.
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WUN4ALL
Ep. 73 Ramona Vlasiu (Pergel) COO at E.ON Next and winner of the GBB Utilities Woman of the Year Award chats with Jo Butlin, WUN Founder & Director.
Ramona Vlasiu (Pergel) is Chief Operating Officer of E.ON Next . She won Utilities Business Woman of the Year at the Great British Businesswomen Awards in January 2025 and she is also a finalist in the Women in Utilities Awards in June.
In this podcast Jo Butlin, WUN Founder & Director chats about what winning the Business Women of the Year award means to Ramona. We discuss her career journey to date, which started in legal services before she moved into E.ON Romania and then moved with E.ON from Romania to the UK, where she has now settled with her family.
Ramona talks about her style of leadership and the importance to her of culture and team. We also discuss the challenges of having a high flying career at the same time as being a mother of young children.
NOTE : 27/06/25 Ramona was also announced as the Women of the Year at the Women in Utilities Awards.
Welcome to the Women's Utilities Network One for all podcast. Our corner of the world, where we'll be talking all things energy, water, sharing personal stories and debating female issues.
Speaker B:Enjoy.
Speaker A:So, welcome to this latest episode in our series of One podcasts. My name is Jo Butlin, I'm one of the founders and directors of ONE and I'm delighted to be joined today by Ramona Vlasieu, who is chief operating officer of E On Next. And really importantly, Businesswoman of the Year as awarded in Businesswoman of the Year Awards earlier this year, and as we speak, is shortlisted for Women of the Year in Women's Utility Awards, which we're very excited about is coming up in June. So welcome, Ramona, and hello.
Speaker B:Thank you, Jo. And thank you for the opportunity for having me today.
Speaker A:It's fantastic to have you on the episode and also to hear about your amazing achievements in the Women of the Year already. And shortlisted for the new award. What does winning the award mean to you?
Speaker B:To be honest, Jo, it came first a bit of a surprise. It was my team that pushed me forward for the award, which I'm always grateful for and for the support. And obviously I was extremely emotional at first to get shortlisted and then obviously winning at the end. I felt a huge proud in, you know, just as a recognition for the career, the work, the investment that you put into that, there's always. And I was very conscious that behind me there's quite a lot of people because while it is hard work and I don't underestimate personal contribution and talk about all the women that have been there nominated to other awards, but there's always, you know, your career is full of support around you, whether that's, you know, on your team at work or whether it's family around. And you know, for me that, that is good moment just to say, sit and reflect, be proud, joyful, emotional, you know, a lot of, a lot of things have happened to, to me, but, but most of all, obviously I'm. I'm extremely grateful for, for the recognition.
Speaker A:It's fantastic. And, and just your words saying it was, you know, very much pushed forward by your team. I think that says a lot in itself what, what they think of you. So congratulations. And, and, you know, so tell us about your career. How, how did you get here? What got you to this position? Because I know it's a super interesting and not line or not.
Speaker B:Definitely not. And I definitely, when I started my career, definitely I was thinking more towards a more legal career because I graduated law and that was my dream to practice law and which I did beginning of my career and then I started as an in house lawyer to one of the biggest fertilizer company in Romania. And it was quite big with a lot of problems, privatization, labor law, because it was a huge factory with, with a lot of labor involved, intensive issues, commercial mergers and acquisitions, there's the all sorts of things that have been fake with. But then the opportunity in 2006 came for me to join the E on group. And when I joined I joined of course as a, as a director for the legal. For the corporate legal affairs primarily within the privatization process. So E On has just joined at that point in time and coming came to Romania for within trying to acquire actually the majority stake in one of the biggest gas and power companies back in Romania. So I was joining the legal team mostly with a view to support the Provatis and the post privatization. So watching a very complex contract, let me put it that way. But what made it even more complex at that point was Romania in 2007, 1st of January, entered the European Union officially. So we had to adopt a lot of the European Union directive. So oh my goodness, a new shareholder with a privatization complex deal to manage, going through a transition which the company had to go when usually an acquisition of a foreign investor happens and then getting and trying to implement European directives. And one of them was extremely impactful for the energy industry, not just in Romania, across Europe, but in Romania particularly because we just joined and that was the unbundling which meant the spin off of the network operator from the retail. So, so that was a mandatory thing both in terms of gas and power. So steering that from a legal perspective, again quite intensive but complex. And then when the company spinned off, I was offered the opportunity to take over a position of a deputy general manager, sort of a deputy managing director of the gas network operator. So as I said, spinning off the two companies. So it was a bit of a first, bit of a shock for me because it was really different network operation which was extremely technical engineering, quite male dominated to be honest. So I got into the management team of the company and I need to say it's probably one of the best four years of my life, career wise, development wise. I've learned a lot, I think I've given a lot to the team. I remember one of my colleagues saying that, you know, when I entered the management team the dynamic changed. Even the way, you know, people dressed up because there is a woman. Yeah, yeah, yeah, just make a joke. But, but joking aside, I think it was A very good experience for me personally and exposed me to a again complex, very big large scale operation, very dynamic through a lot of transformation. So yeah it was, was quite intense.
Speaker A:And was that a really difficult decision for you to say yes to that offer? Because that's very different from complex legal. Are you. How did you. Did you just take a deep breath and go for it or how did it work?
Speaker B:Yeah, so. So the CEO of that point which was a German colleague definitely saw something in me. It was two steps hierarchy wise. So just, just so from a. The director, department director to Deputy MD was quite, quite a big step. First of all I did ask him why me? Why did you want me? And the answer he gave because I'm not a specialist, I'm not obviously not an engineering is very highly engineering driven and said I don't need another engineer. They know what they know, they know what they want to do and I need somebody that comes in fresh eyes not knowing what they know and actually asking you know the how they stupid simple questions that sometimes puts things in a different perspective. And at that point I didn't really grasp what he said but then looking back now I fully understand what he said. Actually as I said he gave me quite a, quite a big exposure in terms of development. But I think I did ask the simple questions and put things in a different light I believe so with that to be honest I did went back to E on and said look, it's a big step for me. I don't feel qualified from all angles. I actually feel I need to add some things to my education as well. And this is when I pushed myself to progress with an executive MBA and I chose the University of Sheffield for that for two and a half years. So which again was quite intense with a big job I was undertaking at that point in time. But again I did quite a lot and broadened my perspective and I always encourage people to, to progress with absolutely education. It gives you a lot to be honest. That was my entry into the executive, let's say career path outside taking me outside my specialty and my expertise, my compass. And then from there it was just a sequence of different executive positions from as I said gas network operator to more retail. So I moved into the retail part of EON Romania at that point in time being responsible for the domestic and small and medium enterprise. Around 3 million customers in Romania. Then I took over the board board position in E on Romania board and as part of a development and talent development in E on group. So internationally going through an assessment center I'VE been selected to be part of this board meets talent group. And within that there was a three years development plan. And one of the key elements that came out of my assessment was I need to, to get outside my Romanian kind of experience comfort zone and experience a different culture and test my leadership and expertise and, you know, capabilities in a different culture. Not just managing a project with an international footprint but actually living in a different country. So that was one of the biggest moves probably in my career and that was even bigger than, you know, the one you've asked me, how did you take? And it came in a good personal moment for me to be honest. It suited my personal status at that point and I said yes, why not? So I moved to the UK in.
Speaker A:2014 and it sounds very much as if that was the company and you know, your employer pushing you and actually you grasping the opportunity at the same time, even though you might have been feeling terrified.
Speaker B:Is that fair to leave behind family, friends?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And as I said, I progressed really nicely within Romania. I got to a point where I was part of the board quite at a young age. 34, I think 33. But you know, E On has a policy where if you really want to become a truly international leader in an international company, obviously they would ask you to be mobile and flip around.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Which, which I did. So initially I thought it's going to be a 2 years ticket box expert contract, off you go. And then, and then I go back to Romania. But I ended up now 11 years in the UK and then my now husband. At that point my boyfriend came and joined me. He was living back in Vienna and he joined me in the UK a year after I joined 2015 and then my career just developed but also my personal life has started to build up in the uk.
Speaker A:Yeah, fantastic.
Speaker B:Two children and I need to say the biggest moments of my Aeon UK career happened while I was on maternity leave, which is another. So my first one I was asked to take over quite a big transformation role. I was on maternity with my, my daughter. I was asked to take over and lead the transformation in the B2C and Me segment of Aeon core business and having the empower business joining the group with quite challenging let's say financial situation. So I let that work stream through the creation of EonNext which I'm now a Chief Operating officer. And then while I was on maternity with my second child three months in, I got a call from the CEO and CRO of E On UK Group asking me if I would like to Pursue an opportunity to actually lead er, Next now. So not just creating E on Next, but leading yearnext as a chief Operating officer. And I said, yes, but you can imagine again, my station, my state of mind at that point. I said yes, and I don't regret. I'm actually quite grateful for the opportunity. And then I became part of the E on UK board.
Speaker A:Fantastic.
Speaker B:I'm leading approximately 8,000 colleagues across different areas from contact center to credit management, debt, supporting vulnerable customers, building quite a lot in that, to be honest, is quite, quite a big, how should I say, it's very precious and dear to me. We have 6 million customers that we look after. As I said, 8,000 colleagues, but also net zero delivery, which is smart metering and all the heat pumps, all the solar panels, batteries, EV chargers, all of that sits within my remit as an operational manager.
Speaker A:Wow, you make it sound so easy and straightforward and you're still smiling. I conceived, but the listeners can't. I'm just going to take a step back because one of the things and one that we talk about a lot is sort of having your children. You know, a lot of women are managing that transition from not having children to having children to sort of as they're growing up. Clearly you've got an enormous job and very successful career and you're also a mother, so how do you manage that?
Speaker B:Yeah, I think again, it's not an easy. Obviously it sounds easy, but it's not. I think the biggest advice I would give to women, and I think you probably hear that a lot from women, one of the things I've always put a kind of a blocker in my head, is that young kids, family, do not work hand in hand with career progression and especially, you know, high executive position, which is completely wrong. Yeah. And I think a lot of women, and even young women that I mentor or sponsor are still having that bias and, you know, they are their own enemies in terms of career progression is not easy, definitely not easy. But. But I think they do come hand in hand a lot. And actually I definitely. It makes me a better manager having the kids and the family. I need to say, so I can better understand, I can better resonate, empathize with my other female colleagues. And I need to say I genuinely think they do work now. Indeed, there's always a give and take. So there's weeks when I feel guilty that I haven't spent enough time with my kids and I try to do my best, maybe the week after. I do have a lot of support from my husband. So it does make a big difference. Some women might not because their husband might be, you know, busy as well. So. But. But there's always things around that you can find to compensate and to balance your life and you can still progress in your career. I put a lot emphasizing need for the team. So the team that you have around me, I'm not doing the job on my own. It's a big job. But what brought me and always carried through my career was making sure you have the strong team around you. That also helps because again, it's a busy job. But if you have a team to rely on, you can take a step back if you need to, one day, half a day, and then also that helps a lot. So there's things that you can, you can definitely do to make them work together. Yeah, again, I'm not making it. It's not easy and it's not. But it's doable and, and definitely you can make it.
Speaker A:Yeah. And everything you say really resonates with me. But I've got two daughters who are grown up and all of that sort of. I think there is something in there though about being brave and asking for help and sort of looking at the team. I mean, how would you. If you were talking to your younger self, you know, before you were in the stratospheric level, how would you get that confidence to do the. I suppose the thing that does feel uncomfortable because you're right. I think many women really struggle with it of saying it's an either or, not a both.
Speaker B:Yeah. Look, I think what would I do different? I would definitely not put a blocker in my head. I would, I would be much more open. And this came quite late in my life for various reason, not just career, personal reasons why that happened, but just as I said, I think just let things happen, let life leave around you, if that makes sense. So let things happen, not block them and create unnecessary restrictions for. For. For what, what you can or cannot do. That would be what I would definitely do different in my. The way I would look at things. Another thing, it doesn't mean I'm not serious or not ambitious or not, you know, driven, but I will live a little bit more. And when I say that is just enjoy life a bit more, you know, serious, always it, please take it with a pinch. I'm not saying don't. You know what I mean? It's like really, really let life happen and leave the life and things more. That's how I would do differently. To be honest in myself, my younger Self. Yeah. And I had moments in my life when I was unfortunately presented with life threatening situations. And that's when you realize that life do happen around you and there is moments when you put things in perspective and say, okay, is this it? What have I done? And trust me, the first thing that come into your mind is not necessarily linked to career. It's about personal and about life. It doesn't mean Korea can't happen around it. But the biggest advice I would say just, just enjoy life more. I would do it from.
Speaker A:And I think that is so important and so valuable advice because I think we're often put ourselves under more pressure than we need to.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I often say to people, the more you live, the more you're enjoying life and have, you know, lots of interest. Actually it makes you better at work as well because you're happy and you're fulfilled and you're firing all cylinders. Yeah. And just you sort of mentioned you've had some obstacles and challenges and I mean for many of us just picking yourself up and moving from Romania to the UK and you know, do some of those things is really inspiring but terrifying. I could imagine. I mean how do you get the strength? Where, where do you find the strength to overcome the challenges?
Speaker B:So there's always a personal context to that. So I, I need to say that particular moment for me moving to, to UK actually was also facilitated by my personal status at that point in time. So I always think there is that you always have to balance because in some instances some people might be restricted by the family or by their, by their construct, by personal construct to make such a radical move. But then equally even if that is the family, if I would have had a family I probably would have taken the same step. Now I did want it at that point in my career to prove that I can do what I did back home in a different world, in a different culture. I don't have to speak the mother language and I don't have to be known by because I can build that again. So I did had a bit of a drive. Yeah. Again that, that's me and I. There's quite a lot of that in other people. But, but so the drive that I had that wanted to prove to myself that I want to do that, there was the personal context that supported the decision. It was hard from, as I said, leaving the comfort zone, the family, the friends and starting fresh from, you know, making new friends. And ultimately I ended up building my own family here in the uk. But I don't regret it. To be honest, I think, yeah, it was probably one of the best moves I've made.
Speaker A:Well, you stayed as well. So I'm clearly, I've clearly got a fantastic career.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And tell us about how you manage that. You know the chief operating officer for Eon next. It's a huge job as you've just described. You know, customers and colleagues. I mean, how do you talk to us about your style of leadership? I mean, how do you inspire? How do you keep all the balls in the air?
Speaker B:I start with what I've mentioned. So for me, the most important thing is building the team that I can, I can work with. Now sometimes you can build it from scratch, sometimes you inherit, but there's always a journey, let's say, when you. You do and you build your team around you. So, and for me, that is number one thing. Wherever I was in whatever position I was, that was for me the most important thing. And then again, coming back to my current job, I rely a lot on my team and I empower a lot on my team. It doesn't mean I'm not present, it doesn't mean I'm not close to sometimes even details and quite low level details. But there is a level of stepping back and allow them tr. Yeah, trust and this helps. So no matter how big the job is, if you have the team around you that are the experts or they, you know that you empower them and you trust them and they feel that genuinely you do that, I think that definitely helps. And this helps me every single day. Right. So that is number one. The other thing. Now Covid have made a change in the hybrid and to a certain extent the human interaction obviously is. Was for a period of time less because we were all behind computers and we're still in that. So in Eon, we still work in a hybrid way. So we moved a little bit back in the office, but also still, which also allows me actually to build my family and my life around which a lot for a mother of two young children is it's a gift to be able to work from home a few days. And I love doing that for this reason. But the thing I love most is spending my time with the teams and people. I'm a person and people know I am what I am and you get what you see. And I think again, something that followed me through my career is is that showing that you're human being in the first instance, it's not the position that was given to you by someone that makes you the person, is the person that makes the person, if that makes sense.
Speaker A:So that's, that's brilliant.
Speaker B:Yes, me. And that resonates with people. So the way I lead is, as I said, empower my team, trust them, allows me to step back, do my job properly, spend time with people, be genuine, empathetic and be yourself and a human. And at the end of the day, I never pretend I'm the smartest person in the room or I know everything. I actually do the opposite. And people appreciate that, I think.
Speaker A:Absolutely. We often talk about leaders showing their vulnerability as well and showing that they, you know, they don't have all the answers, they don't have all the. And it's so important. I think I'm just going to come back to you. You mentioned sort of that first move into the guest network. It was a, you know, somebody spotted your talent, somebody spotted you and sort of pulled you out. How do we, particularly for women who are maybe holding themselves back, as we've talked about, how do we help more women come through? How do we get sort of allyship, really working effectively?
Speaker B:Yeah, I think it's exactly that. I think it's finding the allies, finding the people that will talk about you when you're not in the room. And it's quite important, I think, think in the last years, the term of sponsorship and sponsor. To be honest, when, when I, when I started my career, I didn't know about the sponsors, I barely knew about the mentors, let alone the sponsor. But it is, it is really important that you have not just somebody that mentors you and helps you develop your career, but it's the sponsorship. Who are the people that you would rely again, that when you're not there, they actually talk about you. And the proof points, exactly. As I said, the biggest moments of my career happened when I was off. Actually, I was not even in the office, I was on maternity leave. I was not even around, let alone being in the same room. But to your point, in the Net Gas Network, it was, again, I think he was my sponsor, not get that point in 2008 when that happened, that the term sponsor existed. But he was my sponsor. I work with him quite closely from a legal matters perspective and I think obviously he saw something in me and when the opportunity came, he put my name forward. And this is important again, to have that sponsorship around. Sometimes people just see things in you, but you can also influence that. You can also approach people. I'm approached by people to say, would you mind being my sponsor and getting to know me better? So I would encourage young Women to do that find. And not just women, I think women to women, definitely. But also men. I think men are really good at that. Men are really, really. Some of them are really strong allies.
Speaker A:Yeah, totally, totally agree. And I think it's so important to take the initiative yourself, isn't it? In terms of.
Speaker B:It's. Yeah. Not waiting for somebody. Yeah, there might be. And I was lucky that happened to me. But take that initiative and have that conversation.
Speaker A:And nearly always people say yes, don't they? I think yes, I do.
Speaker B:I said yes.
Speaker A:Yeah, exactly. And then the last bit I was just interested in. You've obviously worked in E on for a long time. So the culture of the organization and how you've grown in that is really, clearly, really important to you as well. Can you just talk to us about that sort of that the culture of. Well, how important that is to you and your career? Very.
Speaker B:So I think the reason. Joe and you actually hit the nail on the head. The reason probably I've stayed so long, probably. But for sure, the reason why I chose to stay with Aeon, especially in the last years in my career, was the culture and the people that are in Aeon and supported both my career. But also the way, as I said, the way the company chooses to treat people from just the ways of working in terms of, you know, hybrid working or just support networks that we put in place, conversations. The openness, the empowerment that the company gives you, which you then, you know, paid back to your team. So. So I think for me, this is really, really important. If I feel at some point that these things are not there, I'll probably choose to find, yeah, 100%. So culture is really, really important. But you, as any person, as any leader, you are part of that culture. And you can influence that culture. And you can not dictate, but you can. You really need to walk the talk, if that makes sense. You can't expect the culture to happen and then you're different. You have to embrace that, promote that. So again, for me it's important, the culture. But I'm conscious how important I am to build the culture for the organization and how actually impactful it is. If you as a leader do not walk the talk. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:And like, like it or not, you're very visible and people will be learning from you.
Speaker B:And seeing you, they look at you 100% every single day.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely. Well, I am not at all surprised from this conversation. You're truly inspiring. And I'm not at all surprised you've won these awards. So thank you so much for your candor and honesty and just sharing your amazing journey. It's truly inspirational and I'm sure all our listeners will love, love listening to it. I'll probably reach out to you afterwards, actually. So. So good luck in the next awards. I'm obviously conflicted because I will be there, but yes, and just continue doing what you're doing because it's absolutely brilliant. So thank you.
Speaker B:Thank you so much, Joe, for the opportunity. Thank you.
Speaker A:Great stuff. Thank you.
Speaker B:Sa.