Nicola Medalova to take up Yorkshire CEO post as governance overhaul continues

(by Karma Loveday)

Nicola Medalova will join Yorkshire Water today as chief executive officer designate, and will succeed Nicola Shaw on 1 January. Shaw, who has led the company for the past four and a half years, will stay on for the handover period to ensure a smooth transition.

Medalova has previously served as a non-executive director at Yorkshire Water, and joins from National Grid where she has worked as chief operating officer of National Grid New England and most recently as chief of staff to the group chief executive. Yorkshire Water said that in this role, she led a group-wide strategic reset and had responsibilities spanning investor and stakeholder engagement, capital investment, asset management, customer delivery and corporate functions.

The leadership change is the latest development in a governance shake-up at Yorkshire Water, which has also featured the appointment of Jonathan Lewis as new chair and Dr Tony Ballance and Basil Scarsella as independent non-executive directors. This followed EQT’s acquisition of a 42% stake in Yorkshire parent Kelda Group from Deutsche Bank earlier this year.

Medalova joins as Yorkshire Water’s fortunes languish. This month, it was graded in the bottom categories in the Environmental Performance Assessment and Water Company Operational Performance reports, and in the mid-range ‘elevated concern’ category in the Monitoring Financial Resilience report.

Medalova said: “Yorkshire Water faces huge challenges but also great opportunities for continued improvement… My immediate priority will be to listen and learn, while maintaining a relentless focus on delivery. Yorkshire Water will ultimately be judged by what it delivers for customers, communities and the environment, and I’m excited about the opportunity to help shape its future.”