Pietro Rabassi, our Director Central European Markets, joined Nord Pool just three years ago, with an established track record in the business, policy and technology areas of the energy sector. And Pietro finds his mixed energy sector background helpful in dealing with customers. “I feel that almost any challenge that our industry and customers face lies in a mix of these three areas,” he explains. “Finding where the balance sits and helping present solutions to customer challenges is what makes me excited and fascinated with my work, every single day.

“Our customers have different needs and are experts in their business: there is no ‘off the peg’ answer to customer challenges. For me, it is exciting to be able to work to provide a tailored solution for each issue, as required.”

Pietro finds his own mixed cultural background and ability with languages a definite asset: “Customers can have very different cultures and often speak a variety of different languages. Being able to ‘talk’ their culture and address them in German, English, French, Italian or Greek is a definite plus.”

When it comes to the hard business of energy trading, Pietro is seeing some definite trends in the central European region: “Customers need to trade ever closer to delivery with more and more APIs – meaning automated and/or algo trading – and they need to watch their costs, of course. So I see it as my role to make sure that the Nord Pool offering accommodates what our customers need and that we are as proactive and customer-oriented as possible. At the same time we are ensuring that every aspect of our offering lowers barriers to trade, by giving simpler and easier access to the market and by providing a more cost-competitive offering.”

And what can customers look forward to Nord Pool delivering in central Europe, going forward? Pietro is clear: “A power exchange that is innovative, does things with commitment and that offers robust systems and simple and efficient trading opportunities.”