Richard K Ackroyd - Chief Executive

Richard Ackroyd was appointed as Chief Executive on 25 March 2008 and has twenty years experience in the water industry.  Prior to joining Scottish Water Richard had been Director of Regulation and Investment at Yorkshire Water since 1996 with, amongst other issues, responsibility for regulatory matters and investment programmes.   Richard was also Chairman of Water UK from 2006 to 2008. 

He is a solicitor by profession and has previously been Head of Legal Services for Yorkshire Water following a period in private practice.

Geoff Aitkenhead - Asset Management Director

Geoff was formerly General Manager, Customer Services and Networks at East of Scotland Water (ESW) where he led the Asset Management Group. Prior to this, he was Strategic Development Manager, Operations at ESW and Capital Planning Manager at Borders Regional Council.

During his career, he worked for Pencol International in the Middle East. He is a Chartered Civil Engineer, a graduate of Newcastle University, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management. As Asset Management Director of Scottish Water he is responsible for all aspects of the asset life cycle - investment planning and implementation plus asset operations and maintenance.

Christopher Banks - Commercial Director

Chris Banks was formerly Business Development Director with Ennstone plc. Previously, he was Commercial Director at Scottish Coal and Celtic Energy, following his earlier career in minerals and shipping.

He attained an MA in History at Oxford University and an MBA at Cranfield School of Management

Peter Farrer- Customer Service Delivery Director

Peter, prior to his recent appointment as Customer Service Delivery Director, was general manager of Tactical Planning and Performance within Scottish Water's asset management team.

Peter has 25 years experience in the water industry in Scotland since graduating from Heriot Watt University as a civil engineer in 1984. He later gained an MBA at the Edinburgh Business School in 2001, and is a Director of Scottish Water Solutions.

Douglas Millican - Finance Director

Douglas Millican was formerly Commercial Director for East of Scotland Water (ESW) where he was responsible for regulation and key account management for large industrial customers. Previously, he was Financial Controller with ESW, responsible for negotiating PFI contracts.

Prior to this, he worked with Price Waterhouse in Edinburgh and New Zealand and with Tyco International in Australia. He is a Chartered Accountant with a BCom from the University of Edinburgh and is an Associate Member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Grant Nairn - Director of Innovation and Technology

Grant's role is to drive innovation and the effective use of technology to deliver the best possible outcomes for Scottish Water customers.

Grant joins the management team from HBOS where he was Head of IT Strategy and more recently Head of Enterprise Platforms.

Prior to this Grant's career was in consulting at Accenture and McKinsey & Co.Grant has a 1st class BSc in Physics from Edinburgh University.

Chris Wallace - Director of Communications

Chris Wallace joined Scottish Water in April 2007 as Director of Communications.

Chris is a former Managing Director of Barkers Scotland. He attended the University of Stirling and has a BSc in Management Science and a diploma in Marketing.

Chris is responsible for advising the management team and board on corporate reputation and for leading teams working in media relations, public affairs and internal communications.

His novel, ‘The Pied Piper’s Poison’, won the 1998 Saltire Award.

Andrew Walker - Director of Human Resources & Development and Health & Safety

Andrew was appointed to his current role in February 2007 having previously been Head of Human Resources & Development with Scottish Water since 2002.

In his current role he is responsible for promoting the development and involvement of all employees in meeting Scottish Water’s business objectives.

Prior to this he worked for East of Scotland Water having joined the water industry in 1996 from Diageo.

Andrew is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development and has a BSc in Sociology and an MSc in HR Management.