ACE appoints WSP's Kirsten Oliver to chair new Energy Group

The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has appointed Dr Kirsten Oliver, Managing Director for Energy at WSP, to chair a new Energy Group that will help shape policy on energy investment and delivery.

ACE said the group would bring its member firms together to tackle shared industry challenges and help shape the policies needed to unlock investment, speed up project delivery and drive growth across the sector.

Oliver has more than 25 years' experience spanning conventional and renewable energy and has worked on energy programmes in the UK and internationally, according to ACE. It said her expertise covers asset integrity, infrastructure repurposing, systems integration and the wider energy transition. She holds a PhD in Materials Science from the University of Liverpool.

Kirsten Oliver, chair of the ACE Energy Group and Managing Director for Energy at WSP, said: "ACE's new Energy Group provides a valuable forum for industry collaboration, allowing us to share expertise, address common challenges and work constructively with policymakers to help deliver the energy systems the UK needs for the future."

She said the UK energy sector faced a huge opportunity to drive investment, deliver critical infrastructure and support economic growth.

The group's remit

ACE said the Energy Group would focus on fostering collaboration across the consultancy and engineering sector, promoting best practice and supporting delivery of the energy infrastructure needed to power future economic growth.

Milda Manomaityte, Chief Executive of ACE, said: "Our new Energy Group gives the sector a single, coordinated voice to help government remove the barriers holding back investment and delivery."

Energy was central to the UK's growth ambitions, she said, and ACE members were the people who design and deliver it.

ACE already runs a Water group, which it says brings together ACE engineers and Environmental Industries Commission (EIC) members with an interest in water and regularly engages government, regulators including Ofwat and water utility companies.

Background

ACE describes itself as the association for the UK's professional consultancies and engineering companies working in social and economic infrastructure. Its website gives its membership as around 400 businesses in one place and over 300 members in another. It says members employ over 60,000 people in the UK and 250,000 worldwide, and contribute more than £15bn to the UK economy.

The Energy Group arrives within months of changes at the top of the association. ACE announced Manomaityte as its new chief executive officer on 2 February 2026, effective 2 March 2026. She spent the previous seven years at the Railway Industry Association, including as innovation director and most recently chief operating officer, and succeeded Kate Jennings, who stepped down on 5 March 2026 after two years in the role.

In May 2026 ACE appointed Professor Denise Bower OBE, Group Director for External Engagement at Mott MacDonald, as its chair. At the same time Rukhsana Faiz, Managing Director of Environment, Sustainability and Planning at Tetra Tech Ltd, became chair of the EIC.

What happens next

ACE has opened a registration form for firms that want to find out more about the Energy Group or join it.