E.on poaches Abbey marketing chief

E.on, the utility provider, has poached Abbey marketer Jeremy Davies (pictured) as director of brand and communications. It is not clear when he will take up the role.

He will replace Helen Merrick, who confirmed she would not be returning from maternity leave in April (MW April 19). He will take over from Gary Peplar, the former 3UK marketer, who has been covering the role on an interim basis.

Davies was appointed as brand and communications director at Abbey in 2003 (MW September 4, 2003). Prior to that, he was marketing director for NTL: Home for two years. He also spent ten years working for advertising agency JWT, where he was managing director, and founded its brand consultancy subsidiary, digital@jwt.

During his time at Abbey, Davies oversaw the bank’s back-to-basics return to its core high street services and its reinvention as a customer service proposition.

E.on launched its “See it and Save” campaign aiming to make energy “visible” to consumers in March this year.