EPISODE · Nov 5, 2023 · 36 MIN
Greg Jackson, entrepreneur
from Desert Island Discs · host BBC Radio 4
Greg Jackson is the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy. The company is the UK’s second largest domestic energy provider with over five million customers and is one of Europe’s leading investors in renewables. Greg was born in Germany in 1971 where his father was a surveyor in the army. The family returned to the UK a few years later and, following his parents’ divorce, Greg and his two younger siblings were brought up by his mother in Halifax. He describes his mother’s fortitude in bringing up three children on a tight budget as inspirational.Greg left school at 16 to write video games but returned to education a few years later to complete his A-Levels. He went on to study economics at Cambridge University and then joined Procter and Gamble’s graduate scheme where he worked in marketing.He became managing director of a mirror business when he was still in his twenties and then began flexing his business acumen by investing in a series of tech start-up businesses. In 2015 he secured £10m in investment to start a new energy company.Greg has two sons and lives in west London. DISC ONE: The Only Way is Up - Yazz & The Plastic Population DISC TWO: Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden DISC THREE: Shipping Forecast (BBC Radio 4) Read by Eugene Fraser DISC FOUR: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - U2 DISC FIVE: Dizzy - The Wonder Stuff and Vic Reeves DISC SIX: The Gambler - Kenny Rogers DISC SEVEN: One Day Like This - Elbow DISC EIGHT: Rockaway Beach - Motörhead BOOK CHOICE: The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation by Frank O'Brien LUXURY ITEM: A pinball machine CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: One Day Like This - Elbow Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley
What this episode covers
Greg Jackson is the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy. The company is the UK’s second largest domestic energy provider with over five million customers and is one of Europe’s leading investors in renewables. Greg was born in Germany in 1971 where his father was a surveyor in the army. The family returned to the UK a few years later and, following his parents’ divorce, Greg and his two younger siblings were brought up by his mother in Halifax. He describes his mother’s fortitude in bringing up three children on a tight budget as inspirational.Greg left school at 16 to write video games but returned to education a few years later to complete his A-Levels. He went on to study economics at Cambridge University and then joined Procter and Gamble’s graduate scheme where he worked in marketing.He became managing director of a mirror business when he was still in his twenties and then began flexing his business acumen by investing in a series of tech start-up businesses. In 2015 he secured £10m in investment to start a new energy company.Greg has two sons and lives in west London. DISC ONE: The Only Way is Up - Yazz & The Plastic Population DISC TWO: Run To The Hills - Iron Maiden DISC THREE: Shipping Forecast (BBC Radio 4) Read by Eugene Fraser DISC FOUR: I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - U2 DISC FIVE: Dizzy - The Wonder Stuff and Vic Reeves DISC SIX: The Gambler - Kenny Rogers DISC SEVEN: One Day Like This - Elbow DISC EIGHT: Rockaway Beach - Motörhead BOOK CHOICE: The Apollo Guidance Computer: Architecture and Operation by Frank O'Brien LUXURY ITEM: A pinball machine CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: One Day Like This - Elbow Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Paula McGinley
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Greg Jackson, entrepreneur
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