“It’s only through challenges that you grow”: In conversation with UrbanChain Head of Legal Duncan McGregor

With 17 years experience within UK top 100 Law Firms and FTSE 250 / Fortune 500 Companies in the UK and overseas, Duncan McGregor reveals why he has moved into the scale-up space with UrbanChain

For those who don’t know you Duncan, could you tell us a little bit about your working background?

My last role was as Senior Legal Counsel with SmartestEnergy, before that Legal Counsel with Drax Power, and prior to that as an Associate within the Maritime Law Department of Birketts LLP.

I qualified as a Solicitor in 2009 with international law firm Hill Dickinson LLP and am currently pursuing an Llm in International Environmental Law and Sustainable Development (part time).

My experience in the Energy Sector extends to: Law and Regulation (Ofgem, FCA, ICO, ASA); Dawn Raid Response; Company and Commercial (M&A and restructuring); Company Secretarial and Board management; Contract Law including PPAs, GTMA, SETSAs, EFETs & ISDAs, bespoke Supply Agreements with ancillary services; and BM contracts.

My maritime law career included High Court Litigation, ADR, ship/yacht sale and purchase, salvage, piracy and towage matters, armed guard issues, death and personal injury as well as cargo and GA disputes.

Could you explain what your role at UrbanChain entails?

As Head of Legal I operate within the Risk Function of UrbanChain. My role is to: reduce and mitigate legal and regulatory risks; advise the business on those risks; and, take decisive and timely action when such risks do emerge.

It’s essential that any in-house legal function walks the tight-rope of both being a supportive but critical friend to the business whilst at the same time acting appropriately and in line with relevant codes of practice.

How enthused are you by UrbanChain’s potential?

I am truly excited about UrbanChain’s proposition. We're at an inflection point where UrbanChain are reaching critical mass in terms of talent, time, resources and energy and this is being mirrored by wider market sentiment about how power in the UK is generated, used, bought and sold.

I’m relishing the challenge of guiding and supporting a business with the potential for exponential growth and developing myself along with it.

The values exhibited by UrbanChain’s founders and the culture that has developed are ones that resonate with my own.

What would you say is UrbanChain’s USP?

UrbanChain’s USP, given impetus by the values and culture that guides our mission, is essentially allowing generators of electricity to work with consumers to realise and share the benefits of traceable renewable source electricity by leveraging machine learning and an understanding of data.

This isn’t just about money, although enabling generators to get a better export price and consumers a better import price is of course part of the deal. Using UrbanChain’s operating system, bringing generation to consumption together on a granular basis, allows the development of private local energy markets and empowers generators to select which consumers they want to be supplied by their power (and vice versa). In this way actors within communities that share common values can support each other and costs and benefits are socialised within that market.

The energy market is dysfunctional from top to bottom. Consumers experience this through high energy bills that impact business viability and individuals daily lives. Small and medium generators experience this through market volatility and (in the case of solar especially), low (or below zero) off-take prices when there is too much generation going onto the grid.

Commodity trading (power and gas) only really serves those who can capitalise on their market share (exacerbated by the linkage of UK power prices to global gas prices), while certificate and derivative trading overcomplicates the market and allows clever people to create value for themselves rather than benefit society as a whole.

The point is that with UrbanChain organisations can effectively build their own private market and interact meaningfully with people who are consuming and share that value with organisations that you value. It's not just about money, it's about supporting your community and commonality of purpose. And at the same time you can mitigate against market volatility, both generating and consuming.

Following years within FTSE 250 / Fortune 500 Companies and top 100 Law Firms in the UK, what’s it like to be Head of Legal for a rapidly scaling company with global growth ambitions?

UrbanChain are well-positioned; they have a unique selling point, values, culture and drive as well as many talented people.

UrbanChain has got what it takes to penetrate and disrupt the energy markets not only in the UK, but also Europe, the US and further afield.

Turning back to my maritime past, “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”. The voyage that UrbanChain is about to go on will have challenges and in any growing company there are always teething problems. But it’s only through challenges that you grow.