South East Water has named John Halsall as Chief Executive Officer-Designate, effective immediately, as the company navigates a period of significant operational and reputational pressure.
Halsall brings more than 35 years of experience across public and private sector infrastructure, having held senior roles at South West Water, Network Rail and Thames Water. He served on the board of South West Water, was Chief Operating Officer at Pennon Group, and sat as an executive member of Network Rail, where he oversaw rail infrastructure across the South East of England.
He will succeed David Hinton, who had previously announced his resignation after 25 years with the company. Hinton will remain in post during a handover period before departing the business. The succession is subject to regulatory approvals.
Interim Chair Lisa Clement said the appointment was driven by the scale of challenges facing the utility
Interim Chair Lisa Clement said the appointment was driven by the scale of challenges facing the utility. "South East Water faces significant challenges, and customers, communities and stakeholders rightly expect better," she said, adding that Halsall's track record in delivering transformation programmes and his commitment to transparency made him the right choice to accelerate progress.
Halsall said his immediate focus would be on addressing customers' concerns about service reliability. "My priorities are clear: responding to customers' immediate concerns around their water service, delivering immediately on the short-term improvements we can make both today and over the coming weeks and months. In the longer term I am excited by the opportunity to deliver the company's largest ever investment programme of £2.1 billion. I see this investment as a vital step to underpinning the provision of the public water supply, improving reliability and resilience in the south east," he said. He also pointed to modernising the business through technology as a key priority.
