His appointment follows an extensive recruitment process, undertaken by an external agency. He will take over with immediate effect from previous chair Bernard Crump, of the Central and Eastern Region Consumer Council for Water, who will remain a member of the group.
Halliwell’s executive and non-executive director positions for a range of industries spanning food, health, education and transport have seen him lead public, private, governmental and charitable bodies, as well as various organisations supporting vulnerable or minority groups.
Commenting on his appointment, Halliwell said: “I am very much looking forward to this new role, challenging Anglian Water from a customer perspective. I look forward to working with all members of the Customer Engagement Forum to ensure Anglian Water’s current and future work balances the ever-changing pressures in individual customer priorities, communities and environment.”
Anglian Water chief executive Peter Simpson said: “Our 2015-2020 business plan was our most ambitious ever and came on the back of our biggest customer consultation ever where we listened to the views of 50,000 customers to shape our plan.
“Jeff’s role is therefore vital in ensuring we remain in tune with customers as we deliver this plan and prepare the next. We want to continue meeting customer expectations beyond 2020 and are confident Jeff is well placed to represent the burning questions on customers’ lips and the wide-ranging views across our region.”
The CEF is made up of members from various organisations representing customers, regulators and the local environment across the Anglian region, including the Consumer Council for Water, Environment Agency, Natural England, Citizen’s Advice Bureau, Confederation of British Industry and Drinking Water Inspectorate.
Its aim is to ensure customer needs and priorities are represented independently within the business. It challenges the water company to make sure its performance and future plans reflect those views.