Member Article

Arthur McLaughlin joins BSU as chief operating officer

Blue Square Utilities (BSU) has strengthened its C-suite with the appointment of new chief operating officer, Arthur McLaughlin, in a bid to support sustained growth following several significant contract wins and a UK-wide recruitment drive.

Tyne and Wear-headquartered BSU expects to install 100,000 smart meters in 2021 – three times the figures from the previous year – and is aiming to recruit more than 100 engineers to deliver on its ambitious targets.

Excited by BSU’s rapid growth, Arthur can draw on his experience as former COO and head of IT and transformation services for JP Morgan, as well as a position as the global account director and COO for the AstraZeneca account at IBM.

Commenting on his new role, Arthur – who has 30 years of technology industry experience – explained: “I love being at the sharp end of a business which is growing and transforming. Blue Square’s ambition within the smart tech space is fantastic, as is the culture, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“My priority is to move the needle of business performance and explore how we maximise our strategic direction, while targeting efficient operating models which can be converted into executable programmes that deliver value realisation.”

Explaining the rationale behind the new position, BSU CEO, Steve Lees added: “After a particularly challenging year in 2020, this appointment has been made to further our ambition to be a leading player in the smart installation space. Arthur brings a wealth of experience and drive and will help push BSU forward.”

During his 13 years at IBM, Arthur – an applied scientist (PhD physicist) – was a key member of the team which created the first variant of what today is IBM Cloud and later went on to manage IBM’s relationship with AstraZeneca’s research and development division. He moved to JP Morgan in 2010 to drive transformation of the firm’s IT services.

Arthur is also an active member of the Diversity & Inclusion in Tech digital community, Global CTO Forum (GCF) and Global Cyber Security Ecosystem.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .