The new chief executive of Scotland’s public water and waste water organisation has stepped into the role today.
Alex Plant succeeds Douglas Millican, who was in the post for a decade and spent more than 20 years on the board and leadership team.
He was appointed by Scottish Water’s board, led by Dame Susan Rice and his selection was approved by Scottish ministers.
Plant, 53, has worked with Anglian Water from 2014, most recently as director of strategy and regulation.
Previously he held positions in the Royal Mail, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Civil Aviation Authority and HM Treasury, as well as having held several non-executive director roles.
The salary for his role at Scottish Water - the fourth biggest water and waste water utility in the UK - is £295,000 - which the organisation noted is less than any comparable water company chief executive in the country.
“Customers, communities and the environment will remain at the heart of what we do,“ commented Plant. “We face many challenges, including maintaining our very high standard of service while adapting to the impacts of climate change on our critical infrastructure.
“This will need sustained increased investment if we are to ensure future resilience,“ he continued. “Our focus is on working with our partners to deliver a transformed service which protects and enhances the environment, provides real value for people every day and continues to deliver excellent performance in every aspect of what we do.”
Every day, Scottish Water delivers 1.52 billion litres of drinking water - enough to fill more than 600 Olympic swimming pools - while also taking away and treating 1.1 billion litres of waste water.
Services are supported by a vast range of infrastructure and assets, as well as a multi-million-pound capital investment programme. The organisation is progressing with a transformation programme that aims to achieve net zero status by 2040 and improve resilience.
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