Shooting for the sun, Ann’s story 

Joined 2020, UK – I arrived at the company during a time of radical scaling up, we were experiencing huge growth on an international level. As a secondee from bp, I often get asked what prompted my switch to Lightsource bp, and the answer is simple. There is nowhere else I would rather be right now.

I have always dreamt big, and have chased those dreams with spirit, grit and determination. I was an exuberant child who wanted to be in astronaut and go to space, my first ever training was astronaut training at the European Space Agency. With a passion for science I funded my way through Oxford University to study Physics, and I became attracted to the energy industry. Fuelled by curiosity of how a sector can meet the complex demands of energy the world needs I joined by bp in 2004 with a desire to solve big challenges. My career adventure at bp have allowed me to live in many countries including Canada, Norway, London, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

The world is moving fast, and with all the complexity and challenges in front of us, now is the time for change. For us at Lightsource bp that means we will transform our growth, we will excel at what we do, and we will become a global force in solar. But really, it goes beyond that. We don’t just want to impact the energy landscape, we want to have a positive impact on everything we touch, from local communities to our own staff.

For me, one of the most important aspects of that is inclusion, diversity and equality. As a young woman in the energy industry, I’ve spent most of my career in the minority. This is something that Lightsource bp is working to combat, and though there’s a lot left to do, we’ve had some notable successes – our exec is 50:50 men and women, and you can absolutely see the difference in impact.

We value diversity of thought, the range of experience and knowledge that comes from a diverse staff is such an asset as we work to change the future of solar. With that in mind, we really pride ourselves, as a company, on our “people pipeline” – we are a business where you can be sure that whatever background you’re from, whatever your gender, your ethnicity, that you’re able to be the best that you can be within that company. If you get inclusion right and have diversity at the top, then equity should sort itself out, and that is definitely borne out by my experience at Lightsource bp.

Ann Davies, Chief Operating Officer

Corporate biography

Ann Davies joined Lightsource bp in September 2020. She currently serves as Group Chief Operating Officer leading Safety, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, Digital, and Technology for Lightsource bp’s global portfolio.​

Before joining Lightsource bp, Ann was Head of Country, Georgia for bp. Previous to that, she worked in a range of international leadership, engineering and operational roles for bp.​

Ann holds a Masters of Physics degree from Oxford University. She is passionate about progress – solving big challenges, encouraging and embracing inclusion and diversity, and keeping active and engaged in the STEM and energy community.