Meet the smart-meter boss who leads an army of engineers and thrives on change

Jo Cox aims to deliver a net zero future with energy data specialists IMServ.

Jo Cox was called 'the change agent' over 19 years and across a dozen jobs during her time at Vodafone.

Starting her first role in the call centre in the early 1990s, Cox’s churn rate was such that no customer cancelled their contracts after speaking to her. Senior leaders soon spotted potential.

“'Pop Jo in and she will look at it from a different angle,'” recalls Cox. “Start with 'why' and the problem we are trying to solve. I always like to come with an opinion, but I am very happy for that to be changed if you give me data.”

Cox has taken this mantra into her CEO role at meter data management firm IMServ, a job she started in January. The Milton Keynes-based company focuses on smart meter roll outs for its commercial and industrial customers, who rely on IMServ for metering, data collection and energy-saving services.

With hundreds of engineers out in the field dealing with legacy meters, she aims to have all commercial customers connected by 2035.

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She has come in with fresh eyes after previous CEO Steve Brown had been at the helm for 20 years. The Berkshire-based leader now aims to turn the company into a recognised player.

IMServ, which turns over around £80m annually and a profit close to £16.5m, may have little brand and public recognition but one recent regional business tale sticks out.

In 2022, a sports bar in Southampton began to be hit with rising energy bills which soon amounted to a reported £490,000. The owners refused to pay, installed their own meters and then brought in an IMServ technician to investigate. The readings tallied with IMServ and the bar’s own energy provider cut their bill to £90,000.

Cox says the story cements the point of offering accurate meter readings. In April, IMServ acquired energy software firm Astral Tech to boost its data intelligence output and efficiency for customers on a readable portal.IMServ aims to deliver data intelligent smart meters for all by 2035.·Stuart Miles

She adds: “What we want to do is to give customers an easy login and communicate to them what may be driving a high usage."

There’s no doubting that Vodafone was a key learning ground for Cox in using technology to solve problems.

Her near two decades with the telecoms giant also taught her “cultures, countries, acquisitions, how to go at pace at something that was old fashioned and rebranding".

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“I was lucky I had mentors and senior leaders who taught me to hone in and listen more,” she adds.

Story Continues

“I have to constantly practice to slow down when I come in with opinions as my brain goes super fast when someone is talking. I was lucky that the feedback was respectful in a development way and it’s why I stayed at Vodafone for so long.”IMServ CEO Jo Cox started her career in a Vodafone call centre.

Cox later worked for international energy company Centrica and, before IMServ, was CEO at Islands Energy Group (IEG), which supplies gas in Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

At Centrica, she also took up both COO and CCO roles. “I had taken on too much and one of the hardest things for me to say was that I couldn’t do both jobs well. I was doing both badly as I was too busy.”

At IEG, she experienced several challenges after joining during COVID. “You can’t fix it all yourself and the first thing I always do is look at what I call my ‘bench strength’. I’ve got to trust the people around me are the best.”

On a more personal level, Cox says she has thrived on change and independence by learning the hard way after her parents split up when she was three years old. Her mother remarried and moved several times more and this saw her twin brother also move away.

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Cox now oversees 630 staff at IMServ, with 50% out in the field. She attends every regional meeting and tries to go out in the vans with the tech specialists when she isn't in Milton Keynes or meeting investors in London.

A company rebrand to boost the firm's profile is now in the offing after Cox looked at IMServ's positioning when she was first offered the role.

“There was a confusing website, how do you say their name [it is pronounced 'I Am Serv'] and what is the value they are delivering? It was all unclear," she admits.

As she now points out: “We are waking the dinosaur in the market.”

CEO Says: How I lead

“I'm not hierarchical and I like to walk the floor a lot. If someone comes to me asking for me to coach them, I will ask why and we will then put a developmental structure around that. It’s how we support young talent and give them their voice.

"Don’t change your dial because of the 1% of noise, if the 99% of people are feeding back in a positive way and are happy. I hate companies which create a policy to fix one individual that did something wrong.

"What I do say to everybody is you can ask me any question and expect to get an answer. In our monthly 30-minute town halls we have [audience interaction platform] Slido, where staff can ask anonymous questions, and I will ask them live. I like that as people will ask punchy questions on pay rise or decisions, but I am also a human being so I won’t answer the rude ones.”

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