What does a childhood encounter with David Attenborough’s mountain gorillas have to do with the future of energy? More than you might think.
After almost 20 years helping organisations including Hitachi, Shell and Vodafone navigate complex change, Jonathan Caleb-Landy is now leading TEAM LEWIS’ global Energy practice. We spoke to him about what drew him to the sector and why facts alone won’t build belief in the energy transition.
1. What first sparked your interest in the energy transition?
A man in a beige shirt lies in the dirt in the Virunga Mountains. Nearby, a family of mountain gorillas rests, calm, powerful, unbothered. A young gorilla wanders over. As the man tries to hold his composure, the ape decides he’s found a new toy.
That’s the moment David Attenborough abandoned his script and ended up play-wrestling wild gorillas on camera. I watched it as an 11-year-old, in the middle of an ordinary biology class. It stuck with me.
As I got older, that fascination with nature turned into concern about climate change. And that concern led me straight to energy.
Energy built civilisation. It powers economies, shapes geopolitics, and sets living standards. From the first spark to today’s power grids, progress has always run on energy. But energy today faces a triple shock: a systems overhaul, supply chains shifting under geopolitical pressure, and technology moving faster than either can keep up. That collision is what pulled me into this sector.
2. What experience and perspective are you most excited to bring to the team?
I bring a focus on strategy, creativity, and shaping perceptions. The energy transition is the most consequential industrial transformation of our lifetime, but capital and engineering alone won’t deliver it. Perception and positioning will play just as important roles. I bring a deep understanding of technical, regulatory, and financial realities. As well as the ability to work with a broad team to create clear, compelling, creative stories that drive positive outcomes.
3. How can the sector rebuild public trust when projects are delayed, costs rise or policies change?
Building capital-intensive infrastructure is inherently volatile. Look at major projects like London’s Elizabeth Line, which opened years later and billions over initial estimates, or the Sydney Opera House. Both faced real public and political scrutiny during construction. Today, both are celebrated as generational achievements.
We’re lucky to live in a democracy where grievances and concerns are heard and addressed. It makes for better projects, but it also means that how developers communicate around them is fundamental to their success.
That takes a proactive approach built on three principles:
Candour
Be transparent upfront. Own what you know, and just as importantly, own what you don’t. Stakeholders respect honest uncertainty more than manufactured certainty.
Collaboration
Bring communities, governments, and partners along as active participants in the journey, not obstacles to manage.
Confidence
Articulate the long-term benefit clearly while demonstrating day-to-day integrity, so people can see the outcome is worth the interim friction.
4. Where do you think energy brands most often go wrong when explaining complex issues?
Energy brands can be naturally risk-averse, defaulting to safe, rational language over anything that feels emotional or too bold. I believe the sector needs to dial up emotional storytelling and not be afraid to stand out from the crowd. People remember how a story made them feel long before they remember the facts behind it.
5. What’s one prediction you would make about the future of energy communication?
Energy communications will grow in importance as we move into the harder, structural phase of the transition. I think that means more highly finessed, beautiful work.
We’re entering a complex phase of the energy transition, one that involves difficult decisions and compromises: building heavy grid infrastructure, re-engineering supply chains, and asking communities to host visible assets. Over the next decade, energy comms will need to play a fundamentally important role: explaining difficult decisions, helping leaders navigate change, and building belief and confidence at both a national and local level. It’s going to be fascinating and inspiring.
It’s a big brief – and Jonathan is ready to get stuck in. We’re delighted to have him on board as we deepen our expertise across the global energy sector and help shape the conversations surrounding its next chapter.
Want to continue the conversation? Get in touch with Jonathan and our Corporate Energy team.
