In this spotlight, we’re proud to feature 2020 Top Flight alumna and recently named Utilities Businesswoman of the Year, Ramona Vlasiu. A trailblazer in the energy industry and current Chief Operating Officer of E.ON Next, Ramona reflects on the leadership journey that brought her from being a legal expert in Romania to operational leader in the UK. She shares what this award means to her, how the Top Flight programme shaped her leadership, and her commitment to leading with unwavering support for others.
What does being named Utilities Businesswoman of the Year mean to you, and which achievement do you feel it reflects most?
Creating E.ON Next
At the beginning of 2025, I received my first award here in the UK – the Great British Businesswoman Awards, specifically Utilities Woman of the Year. My team put me forward for it; it was extremely humbling and also such a proud moment. Around April, my team alongside my CEO nominated me again for the Woman of the Year - Women in Utilities (WUN) Awards. Both awards mean a lot to me as they reflect the last few years of my journey, during which I’ve gone through a huge transformation as part of the team that created E.ON Next.
Back in 2019, we had a fairly tough journey being asked to design what the future of E.ON would look like, given the business performance and difficult market conditions at the time. What we succeeded in doing through the transformation journey was to build a whole new culture, recruit new people and create a new entity – E.ON Next.
At the beginning of 2022, I was given the honour of running E.ON Next as Chief Operating Officer (COO). This was a completely new challenge to designing and setting the business up, because it meant making sure everything ran smoothly after we migrated more than 6 million customers, while also ensuring that the business continues to grow.
Taking on a new role post maternity leave - with E.ON's support
I came back from maternity leave after three months to take on this new role as COO, which is a credit to E.ON as a company – as they support women and truly believe in women’s leadership. I needed a lot of support, to be honest, as my son was five-months old when I started the role. My team around me and our Board truly supported me and gave me a strong backing. It was testament to the fact that they genuinely believed in me. And looking back on this journey, followed by these two awards in 2025, is even more a reason to proudly say it is possible to build a career and raise a family.
Can you share you career journey with E.ON and what you're focused on in your role as Chief Operating Officer today?
From law to Director - stepping out of my comfort zone
My background is in law, and I joined E.ON in Romania as Corporate Legal Director. I started in 2006, and the following year Romania joined the EU, which had a huge impact on the company and on my career. We had to align with European regulations, which meant going through a significant legal transformation – the “unbundling” process. After that process, in 2008, I was offered a role outside of legal as Deputy Managing Director in the gas network operator.
This was a major step: moving from being an expert in my field to a generalist, and also into an executive-level role, which was two levels up in the organisation. The role exposed me to many new challenges; it was a heavily male-dominated environment, and I often questioned, “why me?” But my CEO at that time emphasised that they valued my diversity of thought and wanted someone who would challenge their thinking. In hindsight, I realise I brought a fresh perspective not coming from a technological background and did create meaningful change.
Moving to E.ON UK - leadership in a new environment
I later moved to the energy retail side of the business and joined the Board of E.ON Romania. After successfully completing an international group talent assessment process, I was placed in a Global Talent Pool. The company encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone by taking on a leadership role in a new culture and new environment, which brought me to the UK, where I’ve now been for 11 years.
Since moving to E.ON UK, I’ve held a number of transformation roles, leading up to that pivotal moment in 2019 when I was part of the team that built E.ON Next. The company has evolved a lot, and, as COO, I’m now responsible for everything residential and SME customer related – from managing the general contact centre teams and supporting our most vulnerable customers to credit and debt management and field operations, including smart metering and sustainable solutions delivery (EV, solar panels, batteries and heat pumps).
What was the impact of Top Flight on you and your leadership?
I was part of Top Flight in 2020, and we were the first cohort where the founders had to rethink the programme due to Covid. We were online for most of the year, but it was still so well organised, really engaging and surprisingly connective. When we met face-to-face again in September that year, it was really nice to see everyone in person. We are all still connected, which is a testament to the strength of the programme. It was a challenge doing it online but still really rewarding.
Friendship and connection
The number one thing which impacted me was the network. Bringing such extraordinary women together creates a real sense of power, and what you are left with is true friendship and connections that are priceless. I really appreciated the breadth of knowledge from the women, and the ability to share and exchange insights with each other as women in leadership.
The Red Thread: understanding my personal brand
The modules were very well structured, and the programme was heavily focused on learning and development. The one thread that really changed how I look at things was introduced right at the start - your personal brand. We explored the “why” behind what you do: do people know what you’re doing and why? How do you build your brand? That thread ran throughout the whole programme, including in my coaching sessions with Jen, who was fantastic.
At the beginning, I questioned in my head the emphasis on it, but as the programme went on, I started to reflect more deeply. I really thought about how I wanted people to see me. The programme also required you to be sponsored by the CEO of your organisation. That structure was great and got me into regular check-ins with my CEO, which helped me stay aligned on development and progress. Through those conversations, I began to talk more openly about my career and next steps, things I wouldn’t have had the courage to bring up before.
Becoming more assertive and setting goals
The programme taught me to be much bolder and more assertive, and to have those important conversations about what I want from my career and where I want to go. That was a really pivotal moment. I remember getting myself ready to go off on my maternity leave yet still having strong conversations about my next steps and my career, and I truly believe the way I positioned myself and clearly articulated my goals helped lead me to where I am now. It gave me confidence, not just by looking at where I was, but also at how I could move to the next stage.
How would you describe your leadership brand?
Leading by helping others
I’m definitely a people person. I’ve always wanted to be in a position where I can help others. Right now, I have 6 million customers to support and 8,000 colleagues to lead. Top Flight really helped me understand the essence of my leadership and, in turn, what my career looks like. I’ve found that my greatest strength lies in helping and supporting people, be it customers or colleagues.
Enabling my team to grow
From a leadership perspective, The Pipeline taught me to constantly ask myself: “How can I enable and support my team?” That’s not always easy. It's very tempting to step in and take control. But if you do that too often, your team can feel undermined. I’ve learnt to trust people and to let them fail in a safe way. I genuinely want the people around me to grow.
When I interview someone and they say their ambition is to have my job in three years, I think, “Brilliant.” It makes me confident I am hiring the right people. It means I can keep growing too and one day be replaced by someone greater than me.
What advice would you give to other women aiming for leadership?
Believe in your abilities and be what you want to be
Believe in yourself. The biggest enemy I’ve ever had was myself. I had huge support from my family, my colleagues and my organisation, but sometimes we are our own biggest barrier to progression. My advice: take a breath, look in the mirror, and really evaluate the biases and the pressure you place on yourself. And make sure you ask for help when you need it.
One phrase that’s always stuck with me is: “You can’t be what you can’t see.” Think about that and act like it. If you want to do something, show it, say it. If it only lives in your head, neither you nor anyone else will see it.
Ramona Vlasiu is the Chief Operating Officer at E.ON Next. With nearly 20 years at E.ON, she has progressed from the legal department to executive leadership and played a key role in founding E.ON Next. A 2020 Top Flight alumna, she received two awards for utilities leadership in early 2025.
