REI Alumnus Spotlight – Accenture Digital’s Richard Hackforth-Jones

GMC Certificate Achievers & REI Alumni Spotlight Accenture Digital – Richard Hackforth-Jones

The Renewable Energy Institute (REI) is pleased to focus on the achievements of those who have attended REI courses and attained the internationally recognised Galileo Master Certificate to further their careers in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency sectors. The REI, which works with the United Nations Environment Programme and major universities to promote best practice in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, this month is delighted to speak with Richard Hackforth-Jones, who attended the Electric Vehicles Course in London from consulting firm, Accenture Digital.

1. What is your current expertise at Accenture Digital and how does this relate to the renewable energy field? I am an Innovation Strategy Manager working within Accenture Industry X.0. In recent years, my work has been focused on the changing mobility landscape through projects on connected vehicles and EVs and how to develop and deliver products and services within these areas that will delight customers. Within Accenture, this can mean taking on a variety of roles across different clients; from facilitating ideation sessions through design thinking, to developing research and strategy insight into the nascent e-mobility industry, to running the operations for vehicle related digital services.

2. Why did you choose to train with the Renewable Energy Institute in order to take the exam for the internationally recognised Galileo Master Certificate? Working within a digital agency has meant that I have always prioritised customer and driver needs. However, I wanted to gain a more detailed understanding of the Electric Vehicles landscape across the whole value chain from vehicle and battery production to energy generation and the costs of infrastructure. The course run by the Renewable Energy Institute provided an opportunity to gain insight from industry leaders with a wealth of experience and knowledge and also allowed us to question and debate some of the assumptions of the future of e-mobility.

3. What are the skills that you gained with the Renewable Energy Institute? I improved my knowledge significantly around the challenges of battery production, deeper knowledge of the wider stakeholders and associated business cases involved within Electric Vehicles charging, and gained insight into key policy initiatives from across the UK & EU. All of this will be greatly beneficial to future projects as part of Accenture Industry X.0.