Chair’s exit not enough, as SEW announces Hinton to stand down as CEO

(by Karma Loveday)

Exactly a week after South East Water’s (SEW) chair Chris Train quit, the company on Friday announced chief executive David Hinton would also stand down. Hinton has worked at South East Water for over 25 years, and has been chief executive since 2020.

Hinton explained in the May edition of The UK Water Report that he had planned to lead the company through a comprehensive transformation programme, having accepted full accountability for recent supply outages and the resulting public and political ire. However, in a statement on Friday, the company said Hinton had “decided to step down as he feels his position has become an increasing distraction from SEW’s most important priority, which is to deliver a resilient water supply for its customers”.

Train’s resignation did not quell the desire for SEW scalps. In its 1 May report declaring 'no confidence' in the company, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee doubted the ability of the existing leaders to effect a turnaround: “SEW presents as a company devoid of proper leadership, riddled with cultural problems that raise serious concerns about the ability of the executive team, led by the CEO David Hinton, to bring the company back into compliance and deliver the services their customers deserve. Leadership teams play a major role in how company culture develops; culture change at this scale requires SEW’s leadership to change.”

Mims Davies, MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield, adopted the view of “one down, one to go” after Train’s departure, explaining that residents won’t listen to existing bosses, as trust and confidence has hit rock bottom after recent outages.

The EFRA Committee had warned it would call on SEW shareholders to act, should the executive and board fail to take sufficient accountability. This, along with the ongoing personal criticism of Hinton and the likelihood of further corporate scrutiny, will likely have proved compelling levers for Friday’s announcement.

EFRA Committee chair Alistair Carmichael MP said: “David Hinton has made the right decision for the long-term good of SEW’s customers and the company”. He added: “Competent leadership is urgently needed.”

Mike Martin, MP for Tunbridge Wells who had previously called on Hinton to quit, tweeted that “SEW must hire externally for their new CEO and chair.”

Hinton will remain in post for now to allow for an orderly handover to a successor. The board said it “remains focused on accelerating targeted engineering works and making operational changes to improve the resilience of the supply network, increase water capacity and quality in high priority areas as part of a comprehensive, company-wide transformation plan”.

However, the company is now leaderless, adding to a complex set of challenges that won’t be remedied by the installation of new bosses. The board’s handling of the issues also looks deeply reactive – and won’t help the message that it is trying to get on the front foot and transform.