Kelly joined SSE in September 2025 as Director of Development in the Thermal Business. Prior to that Kelly worked for ~ 25 years in Shell and had an international career. In her last few roles Kelly led the UK Energy transition team, was the Vice-President for M&A/Business development for Europe, Russia and Caspian, Vice President Commercial for the Gulf of Mexico and Project Director for an LNG project in Dubai. Kelly worked in a number of geographies including Brazil (her home country), UAE, Iran, UK, The Netherlands and the US. In her career she has been a key player in driving growth, portfolio upgrading and enhancing business performance. Kelly has been in the UK since 2019 and is based in London.

At SSE Thermal Kelly has a team of ~40 people covering Strategy, Business Development/M&A and Project Delivery to FID. She is responsible for delivering the flexible energy required by a renewables-led power system (through hydrogen, CCS and decarb-ready options). Kelly is passionate about promoting diversity, supporting younger staff across the organization and helping the industry thrive through the energy transition, seeking to find a balance between value creation and decarbonization. Outside SSE, Kelly is a NED at Port of Tyne in Newcastle, a Mentor for Powerful woman associates (an initiative seeking to address underrepresentation of woman in the UK energy sector) and a volunteer for ‘Inspiring Futures’, supporting students in understanding career opportunities in the energy sector.