Nicola Shaw to succeed Liz Barber as Yorkshire CEO

Yorkshire Water chief executive Liz Barber has announced her retirement after almost 12 years with the company.

Former National Grid executive director Nicola Shaw will succeed Barber from 9 May. Shaw brings chief executive experience from High Speed 1 and as director of First Group. Currently she is a non-executive director at International Airlines Group.

Barber joined Yorkshire in 2010  as group finance director, before becoming chief financial officer then chief executive in 2019.

“I have had nearly 12 great years at Yorkshire Water and it has been a privilege to be play a part in providing an essential service by an organisation which is a part of the fabric of Yorkshire.  I am particularly proud of what we have done to ensure that the organisation has sustainability at its heart and is resilient, both financially and operationally,” Barber said.

“My colleagues, on the board, in the leadership team and throughout the company have been a huge support throughout my time at the company and I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with them,” she added.

Chair Vanda Murray thanked Barber on behalf of the board and said: “Liz has made a huge contribution to the company in both her leadership roles.  As CFO, she did a great deal to improve financial resilience and also set the pace for increased transparency in the water sector. Her time as CEO has led us through the global pandemic and dealt very effectively with the challenges this caused for both our staff and customers. During this period the business was also hit by at least six named storm events and Liz’s leadership ensured that we remained resilient throughout.”