Willy Rickett

Biography

Willy Rickett is a career civil servant. From March 6, 2006, this former Principal at the Government's Atomic Energy Division became Director General for the Department for Trade and Industry's Energy Group, replacing Joan MacNaughton. ^[1].

The Energy Group 'deals with a wide range of energy related matters, from its production or generation to its eventual supply to the customer&#39. It is the key group involved with the Energy Review from the DTI ^[2]

Rickett joined the civil service in 1975 and has held the following positions: ^[3]

• Principal, Atomic Energy Division, 1978
• Private Secretary to Prime Minister (Margaret Thatcher), 1981
• Seconded to Kleinwort Benson Ltd, 1983
• Assistant Secretary, Oil Division, Department of Energy, 1985
• Assistant Secretary, Electricity Privatisation, 1987 (age 32 was put in charge of electricity privatisation in 1987 and worked on this until the privatisation was complete in 1990) ^[4]
• Grade 4, Electricity Privatisation, Department of Energy, 1989
• Under Secretary, Energy Efficiency Office, 1990
• Finance Director, Department of Environment, 1993
• Director, Land Use Planning, DoE, 1997
• Head of the Economic & Domestic Secretariat, Cabinet Office, 1998 - working closely with No10 on issues like welfare reform, energy policy, public spending etc ^[5]
• Director General, DETR and then DfT, 2000
• Ernst & Young, 2004.

He is described as 'one of the chief architects of electricity privatisation in the late 80s'. ^[6]

External links

• {{note|press} Government News Network press release: 'New Director General for Energy at the DTI, February 20, 2006.
• ^ DTI Website: 'About the energy group', undated, accessed February 2006.
• ^ Department Of The Environment, Transport And The Regions press release: 'Head Of Transport Task Force Appointed', unavailable online, January 17, 2000.

Articles

• ^ Paul Foot, 'The notional health service', The Guardian, January 25, 2000.