'Driving Operational Excellence': A Conversation with Andrea, Head of Technical Operations at UrbanChain
Team
20 Aug 2025
Shahzoonia Kazmi
Aug 20 2025
For Andrea, Head of Technical Operations at UrbanChain, the journey to this role has been one of bold decisions, diverse experience, and an unwavering focus on doing things right for both customers and colleagues.
After turning 50 this year, Andrea says she feels more settled than ever with a grown-up daughter forging her own career and spending time with her supportive partner of three years, recently turned fiancée. Andrea’s role at UrbanChain is one that plays to her strengths in leading teams, managing complexity, and keeping the customer at the heart of the business.
“The continual learning excites me – from the role, projects, and my colleagues. I learn by doing, by tackling new challenges. And the openness and collaboration here at UrbanChain, from Exec level through the whole business is something special.”
Andrea’s career has spanned retail management, some of the UK’s largest energy suppliers and both the water and energy software service industries. She's thrived in optimising processes, from metering, billing, and data management and at UrbanChain helps us to continuously improve.
She’s the first to say no one can be an “expert” in all things energy – but she’s built a career on staying curious, adaptable, and deeply engaged with every aspect of the sector.
A pivotal moment for her career came when she took the leap to leave a stable, well-established company without another role lined up. For someone who calls herself “risk averse,” it was a huge decision, but she says she knew she'd made the right choice when she walked into UrbanChain on her first day.
Andrea with her daughter.
Outside of work, Andrea recharges with long walks, time with family and friends, and holidays whenever possible. She credits her partner for keeping her grounded and her daughter for shaping the person she’s become.
Since joining, Andrea has delivered major milestones:
- Leading UrbanChain through Supply Licence Qualification, achieving confirmation from the Retail Energy Code and launching UC Energy in October 2024.
- Successfully migrating the entire UrbanChain portfolio into UC Energy, giving the business full control of supply and services.
- Implementing a new billing system and contributing to two significant industry programmes, including the nationwide shift to Market-Wide Half Hourly Settlement.
- Driving cross-departmental wins such as the Red Bear & Honeycomb integration with UC Delphi, reducing manual intervention and improving efficiency for multiple teams.
- Launching knowledge-sharing drop-in sessions across the company on topics from billing platforms to theft prevention – building awareness, visibility, and collective problem-solving.
“Collaboration helps eliminate challenges and often delivers better results across the board. It might mean more work upfront, but it pays off in the long term.”
Andrea is known for being the first to prepare for a meeting or task and then prepare some more – making her UC’s very own organisation wizard. Her leadership style embraces participation and empowerment – encouraging her team to contribute ideas, share knowledge, and take ownership.
She’s built a culture of openness, where workloads and challenges are discussed honestly, skills are shared, and no one is left to struggle alone.
That leadership is felt keenly by her team. Amir, a Technical Operations Analyst, describes Andrea as someone who “seems able to juggle 100 things at once whilst also still being available for those who require her input.”
He jokes that she might be the only person keeping the notepad industry alive — he adds: “Andrea is focused, organised (apart from her computer desktop!) and always willing to do what's required to get the job done. In the fast-paced world of start-ups, she provides a beacon of clear direction and stewardship which is rather appreciated by her team.”
Andrea and friends reach the famous summit.
Jon, also a Technical Operations Analyst, adds: “Working with Andrea is great. She’s always a few steps ahead, which keeps everything running smoothly. As a leader, she gives you the confidence and ability to take ownership of tasks and is always supportive. She’s approachable, motivating, and cares about the team’s and individual success and progression.”
Helena, an Industry Performance Manager, echoes this: “Andrea never shies away from a challenge and always leads by example. She is strongly self-motivated and will engage with and master any new concept she sets her mind to. She wouldn’t expect her team to do anything she wouldn’t do herself. She has seemingly endless energy, always willing to collaborate with colleagues or represent UrbanChain externally with a friendly face. She is determined for us to succeed and always provides the tools we need to feel supported.”
Looking ahead, Andrea is excited to help UrbanChain grow – seizing new opportunities created by the systems, processes, and qualifications her team has worked hard to build. She’s focused on supporting her team as projects transition into business-as-usual, giving them greater ownership, and exploring further innovations to expand on what UrbanChain has today.
“It’s refreshing to be in a company that does things differently — making real changes in the energy market for the benefit of customers and communities. I’m proud to be part of that change.”
Andrea and her partner.
