Thames Water appoints new capital delivery director

Thames Water has appointed Francis Paonessa as its new capital delivery director.

Paonessa joins Thames from business and strategy consultancy, Aczel, where he has been advising clients on projects in defence and infrastructure. He was previously managing director of infrastructure projects at Network Rail.

Before Network Rail, Francis spent four years at Bombardier, the world’s largest designer and manufacturer of rail vehicles, where he held a number of positions – including the managing director of its UK business.

The appointment follows those of Warren Buckley as retail director and Cathryn Ross into a newly-created role as strategy and regulatory affairs director, in what Thames said was the latest step in building “a strong leadership team to transform the service Thames Water provides to its customers, communities and the environment.”

Thames Water chief, Sarah Bentley, said Paonessa will bring “a great depth of engineering experience and excellence which will be critical as we look to grow and nurture our company’s engineering capabilities. These skillsets are just what we need as we start a major new programme of investment in both our water and waste businesses. Francis will help Thames Water provide its customers with the resilient and reliable service they deserve.”

Paonessa’s appointment follows John Bentley’s exit from the business. Bentley will continue to lead the capital delivery team until Paonessa starts on 26 April, and will stay at the company until 25 May to enable a comprehensive handover.