Key Points
- David Black, former chief executive of Ofwat (the UK water regulator), has joined BRG (formerly BRG) as a managing director in its European Economic Regulation practice.
- Black is based in London and will advise firms and investors across regulated industries, including water, energy and communications, as they navigate shifting regulatory frameworks, net‑zero transitions and large‑scale infrastructure projects.
- He spent over a decade at Ofwat, most recently serving as chief executive from April 2022 to 2025, during which he led the regulator through a challenging external environment, including the COVID‑19 period, and helped secure new powers and broader regulatory tools.
- Black also spearheaded Ofwat’s 2024 price review and delivered the first Direct Procurement for Customers model, which allows third parties to participate in water‑infrastructure development.
- Outside Ofwat, he was chief executive of the UK Regulators Network, chair of the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID) and an economist in the energy and communications sectors.
- At BRG he will draw on his experience “as both regulator and advisor to companies and investors” to help clients manage complex environmental, operational, technological and regulatory challenges.
- BRG’s Colm Gibson, a managing director in the London office, said Black’s deep experience at the intersection of regulated businesses, regulators and policymakers arrives at a time when new price‑review frameworks and regulatory controls are on the horizon.
- BRG Vice‑Chairman Dr David Sunding described Black’s arrival as a “significant strategic enhancement” to the European Economic Regulation practice, strengthening the firm’s ability to support clients in highly regulated sectors.
- The London‑based European Economic Regulation team also includes Alena Kozakova, an Ofgem non‑executive director and former Ofwat chief economist, who joined BRG after the acquisition of the European economic‑consultancy E.CA Economics in April.
Who is David Black and what role will he take at BRG?
As reported by BRG in its own corporate announcement, David Black has joined as a managing director in BRG’s European Economic Regulation practice, based in London. According to the firm, Black brings “significant experience in regulated industries across the water, energy and communications sectors” and has worked both as a regulator and as an advisor to companies and investors. This move marks one of several senior hires bolstering BRG’s European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) offering in economic‑regulation advisory work.
In this new role, Black will advise corporates and institutional investors on how to navigate changing regulatory frameworks, the transition to net‑zero targets, environmental challenges and technology‑driven shifts in how infrastructure is financed and delivered. BRG’s own statement highlights that he will focus on “the financing and delivery of major infrastructure projects globally,” signalling continuity with his long‑standing work in utilities‑sector regulation.
What was David Black’s record at Ofwat?
As detailed in BRG’s announcement, Black spent more than a decade at Ofwat, the UK’s water‑services regulator, including his tenure as chief executive from April 2022 to 2025. During this period, he led the regulator through a difficult external environment that included the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on the water sector and broader scrutiny of the industry’s performance.
In a statement quoted by BRG, Black said that joining BRG offers “an exceptional opportunity to contribute to some of the most significant matters across EMEA,” adding that regulated businesses and investors now face “increasingly complex environmental, operational, technological and regulatory challenges” that demand “deep sector insight and rigorous, nuanced analysis.” BRG’s own description notes that, as Ofwat chief, Black helped secure new powers and broader regulatory tools for the organisation, which allowed it to address systemic issues within the water‑sector framework.
How did he shape the latest price review and sector‑level reforms?
BRG’s announcement emphasises that Black “spearheaded the transformation of the sector through Ofwat’s 2024 price review” and delivered the first Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) model. Under the DPC scheme, third‑party entities can participate in infrastructure‑development projects, thereby diversifying the pool of capital and expertise available to upgrade water networks.
According to BRG’s description, these initiatives were part of a broader effort to modernise the regulatory framework and align investment incentives with long‑term environmental and service‑quality objectives. The firm’s statement notes that these reforms unfolded against a backdrop of political and public pressure on the water sector, including scandals over sewage discharges and concerns about financial resilience of major water companies.
What wider regulatory and policy roles did Black hold?
Beyond Ofwat, BRG’s release outlines that Black served as chief executive of the UK Regulators Network, where he led regulators’ engagement with the UK government’s agenda on economic growth. He also chaired the Regulators’ Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID), a body established to coordinate regulators’ approaches to large‑scale infrastructure planning.
Before ascending to Ofwat’s chief‑executive role, Black worked as an economist in the energy and communications sectors, advising both regulators and companies on network‑regulation issues. This dual background—as a regulator and as an external adviser—positions him as a bridge between public‑policy imperatives and private‑sector investment strategies, a profile BRG explicitly highlights in its announcement.
Why does BRG believe Black’s arrival is strategically important?
In comments attributed by BRG, Colm Gibson, a managing director in the firm’s London office and a regulatory‑economics specialist, said that Black’s experience “at the intersection of regulated businesses, regulators and policymakers comes at exactly the right time” for the practice. Gibson added that the European Economic Regulation practice is facing a wave of upcoming price reviews and regulatory‑control changes, making Black’s background particularly relevant to clients in the UK and across Europe.
BRG Vice‑Chairman Dr David Sunding is quoted in the firm’s announcement as calling Black’s hire a “significant strategic enhancement” to the European Economic Regulation practice. Sunding went on to say that Black’s “specialist insights drawn from decades working as a regulator and advisor” will strengthen BRG’s ability to support clients in “dynamic and highly regulated sectors” as they adapt to evolving regulatory landscapes.
How does Black fit into BRG’s existing European regulation team?
BRG notes that its London‑based European Economic Regulation practice has recently expanded, including the addition of Alena Kozakova, an Ofgem non‑executive director and former Ofwat chief economist. Kozakova joined BRG following the acquisition of the European economic‑consultancy E.CA Economics in April, which BRG describes as a key step in building its advisory capability in regulated utilities.
The presence of both Black and Kozakova underlines BRG’s attempt to assemble a senior‑level capability focused on the UK and European water, energy and communications‑regulation markets. By positioning Black at the hub of this team, BRG signals that it is targeting complex, high‑stakes mandates involving regulatory‑impact assessment, pricing‑review design, investment‑strategy work, and net‑zero transition planning for infrastructure‑intensive sectors.
What does this mean for professionals working in economic regulation and regulatory‑risk management?
For professionals in utilities, infrastructure and regulatory‑risk management, Black’s move to BRG highlights growing demand for senior‑level expertise that can interpret evolving regulatory frameworks and translate them into operational and investment strategies. Businesses preparing for future price‑review cycles, environmental‑performance standards and net‑zero pathways may increasingly turn to advisory firms that combine deep regulatory‑sector experience with strong economic‑modelling capabilities.
Organisations seeking to strengthen their internal capacity in this area can benefit from corporate governance and regulatory‑compliance programmes that equip leaders and compliance officers with the tools to anticipate regulatory‑framework changes and align business‑strategy decisions with those shifts. Such training can help professionals interpret complex regulatory signals, manage relations with regulators, and position their organisations to capitalise on emerging regulatory‑incentive structures in water, energy and communications markets.
Through this transition, David Black’s career trajectory—from central‑regulator roles to high‑level advisory work—offers a practical case study for executives and aspiring regulators who wish to understand how regulatory‑sector careers intersect with broader corporate‑strategy and risk‑management functions.