South East Water CEO David Hinton quits as leadership crisis deepens over supply failures
South East Water’s chief executive David Hinton has announced he will resign, just a week after the company’s chairman resigned amid widespread criticism over major supply disruptions in Kent and Sussex.
Mr Hinton, who has been on the group’s board since 2013, will continue his role in facilitating an “orderly transition” over the summer as the search for his replacement begins.
His departure follows chairman Chris Train’s resignation last week following a scathing parliamentary report.
The MPs had declared that they “did not trust” the company’s leadership.
South East Water’s directors have faced intense scrutiny, having been “twice grilled” by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee over their handling of multiple supply disruptions affecting residents in Kent and Sussex.
The Efra committee attributed the company’s abysmal performance to lack of leadership and accountability.
The committee’s report also criticized the inadequate governance framework.
The outages, which occurred between November and January, left thousands of customers without access to basic amenities such as running water, showers or flush toilets.
A statement from South East Water announcing Mr Train’s resignation last week said it was “mutually agreed that new independent Board leadership is now required to oversee a critical period of positive, transformative change for the company, its customers and local communities”.
Lisa Clement was appointed interim president.
The company also apologized to customers affected by “operational failures” that had led to a loss of public trust, adding that it had “noted” the Efra committee’s report.
It was stated that the company plans to double its investment in the water supply network in the next five years.
The Efra committee’s report states: “South East Water emerges as a company lacking appropriate leadership, riddled with cultural issues that raise serious concerns about the ability of the management team, led by CEO David Hinton, to realign the company and deliver the services its customers deserve.
“Leadership teams play an important role in developing company culture; a culture change of this scale requires a change in South East Water’s leadership.”
The report also called on SEW’s shareholders (Utilities Trust of Australia, NatWest Group Pension Fund, Desjardins Group and associated holding companies) to hold the company to account.
