Thames Water has appointed Chris Weston, a former Centrica director, as chief executive.
Weston’s basic salary will be £850,000 salary and he will be eligible for a bonus worth 156% of that (£1.3 million) in line with Thames’ performance-related pay plan, as well as a 12% pension allowance.
Prior to Aggreko, his resume includes managing director at Centrica’s international downstream business, where he sat on the board and executive committee. He has worked within the telecoms sector in the UK and overseas and sits on the board at Barratt Developments and the Royal Navy.
Weston said: “Working with the team I will be focused on delivering the turnaround that the business has outlined and improving performance over the next few years. I recognise that this business is critical to both society and the UK and how important it is that we restore confidence in our operations and financial position.”
Thames’ previous chief executive Sarah Bentley stepped down in June, leaving the company without a leader. Regulatory director Cathryn Ross and chief financial officer Alistair Cochran were jointly appointed as interim leaders and oversaw the development of a new turnaround plan as well as submitting business plan proposals to Ofwat for 2025-30.
This week, Cochran and Ross appeared before a parliamentary committee with Thames’ chair Adrian Montague to answer questions on the financial resilience of the firm. Debts to the tune of £1.35 billion will mature from April 2024, which the senior team admitted the holding company Kemble could not pay.
Total debts at the country’s largest water company exceed £14 billion.
Montague thanked Ross and Cochran, who will return to their previous roles, for their hard work and progress against the turnaround plan.
He said: “I am delighted that Chris will be joining the business. He has a proven track record working in regulated environments, turning round business performance and improving customer experience. He brings strong operational and strategic expertise as we enter this crucial period of delivering our refocused turnaround plan and providing the service that customers rightly expect of us.”