Thames Water has appointed Cathryn Ross into a newly-created Strategy and Regulatory Affairs Director position. She will join the Executive Team and start on June 1.
The appointment follows the decision of current Regulation Director Nicola Cocks to leave the company.
Cathryn’s appointment, which follows the recent recruitment of Warren Buckley as new Retail Director, is another important step in building a strong leadership team to transform the service Thames Water provides to its customers, communities and the environment.
She joins Thames Water from BT, where she was responsible for the company’s global regulatory activities. She joined BT in 2018 as Group Director of Regulatory Affairs, also becoming a member of its Executive Committee.
Prior to BT, Cathryn was the CEO of water regulator Ofwat, where she was responsible for ensuring the sector delivered against the expectations of customers, wider society and the environment. As CEO, she also delivered a cultural transformation programme across the organisation, significantly improving the engagement and empowerment of her colleagues.
Cathryn is also a Non-Executive Director of the Institute of Customer Service. The Institute is a professional membership body which works with business, the public sector and Government to position the UK as a world leader in customer service.
Sarah Bentley, Thames Water CEO, said: “I would like to thank Nicola for her contribution to Thames Water. She has been a hugely committed and valued member of the Executive team. Her work to prepare the company for the next regulatory review sets us up well for the future.
“We’re delighted that Cathryn will be joining the Thames Water team. It is evident we are not providing our customers, communities and the broader environment with an acceptable service. We are therefore undertaking a significant programme designed to improve our performance, and Cathryn will play an important role in helping deliver this, not least ensuring that our customers are at the heart of all our strategic decision making.”
Cathryn said: “I am very excited to be joining Thames Water which provides such an essential service to millions of customers across London and the Thames Valley. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to address the challenges faced by its customers today, as well as helping identify innovative solutions to the longer term challenges presented by climate change, population growth and the need to maintain the resilience of the water and waste network.”
Cathryn lives in Oxfordshire and has been a Thames Water customer for 30 years. She is married and loves gardening and golf.
