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IGEM NEWS | Young Persons Paper Competition 2019

HOW A PIECE OF PAPER

CHANGED MY LIFE

Entering a prestigious paper competition like the IGEM gas utility previously owned by Terra
YPPC can open the door to a glittering career in the gas Firma, a position he held for 15 years.
industry. But you don’t have to take our word for it... Peter is a former adviser to the
board of the Winston Churchill
Memorial Trust. He is a Fellow of the
Institute of Energy, an Ambassador of
Start 360 and Patron of the Energy &
Utility Skills Council.
He added: “You make your own
dreams and good luck in this life – so
dream big and grasp every
opportunity as if it was your last!” ■

NIGEL CURRY

Peter Dixon’s big win
PETER DIXON opportunities it looked like hard work,
which it was.
THEN: Assistant Marketing Officer at “But I grabbed it like it was the only
British Gas, aged 29 opportunity I was ever going to get in
NOW: Chairman of Phoenix Natural my life, and with the support of many
Gas, aged 58 others wrote a paper and fashioned a
presentation that would win both the
IN 1989, regional and national competition.
PETER DIXON “I practised and practised the Nigel Curry in 2002, left
was working in presentation like my life depended
the marketing upon on it and I was lucky enough to THEN: Contract Development Officer
department for work with people who coached me to at Transco, aged 25
British Gas success. For this I will be eternally NOW: Former board director,
North Western grateful to them. aged 41
and had never “It’s true to say that opportunity has
won a competition before. a funny way of attracting good luck NIGEL STILL
Encouraged to enter a paper – and from that point on I had REMEMBERS
competition by a senior manager, tremendous good luck. vividly the day
winning proved to be the most “Winning the competition led me to his first boss at
important opportunity of his life. being rapidly promoted through Transco
He said: “At that time, I had been numerous management positions and suggested that
seconded to HQ from a manual job as selected for successive management he apply for
a welder working on industrial and development programmes – mainly IGEM’s first
commercial engineering, or, as it was those selecting people for senior ever YPPC in 2002.
called then, ‘on the tools’. positions on a fast-track basis.” “He assured me it would be a great
“I was an unusual choice as their Having worked in utility development opportunity. At the time,
nominee, not least because I was only infrastructure for the past 42 years, I worried that I wouldn’t have enough
an Associate Member of the Peter is now Chairman of a number of time to draft a paper and that it
Institution and I didn’t have a degree companies, including Phoenix Natural would be a distraction from my day
level education.” Gas in Northern Ireland. Until 2015, job, but in reality this was most likely
“It turned out to be the biggest Peter was Group CEO of Phoenix an excuse – I think I was just nervous
opportunity I ever had. Like most Energy Holdings, the Northern Irish of presenting on a technical subject in

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