NI Water in second attempt to recruit chief executive

NI Water is again advertising for a new chief executive after its initial recruiting campaign came to nothing last October, when six shortlisted candidates were considered unsuitable for the £150,000 post.

As advertised on Utility Week’s job section, NI Water is looking for a new CEO to lead the business through the next regulatory price control period – expected to be a six year plan commencing in 2015.

A NI Water spokesperson said: “It would be our hope to undertake the sifting and interview process as soon as possible thereafter to allow us to make an appointment early in the new financial year.  
‘‘In the interim, our priority is to maintain the level of stability which the company enjoys, and therefore the present interim arrangements will remain in place with Sara Venning continuing as interim CEO.

When the initial campaign failed, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) spokesperson John Dallat described it as ‘deeply disturbing’.

“We cannot have a repeat of that and we need to know why thousands of pounds in advertising for a new chief executive didn’t attract an individual of the calibre that is required to steer this organisation through a very difficult future,” he said.

NI Water said today that it did not know how much the recruitment campaign had cost as the exercise was “still ongoing” and costs had “not yet been finalised”.

The company, which has seen four chief executives at its helm since it was set up six years ago, has been marred by a number of failings at boardroom level since its creation in April 2007.

The last chief executive, Trevor Haslett, stepped down from his post at the end of August citing “personal reasons”.

Haslet had been appointed acting chief executive in January 2011, after Laurence MacKenzie resigned over mishandling of a cold weather crisis that saw 450,000 lose their water supply.

Haslett threatened to step down in autumn 2011, reportedly due to dissatisfaction with his £130,000 salary, but stayed on.

In 2010 the then chairman Chris Mellor and three other board members were sacked amidst controversy on how the company was awarding contracts.

Northern Water’s first chief executive, Kathryn Bryan, resigned in 2008 after it emerged the company had miscalculated its projected income by £20 million.

According to the advertisement, candidates “must have a record of successful leadership at board level, developing and delivering business strategy and a proven record of building relationships with stakeholders. Experience in a regulated utility business is not essential”.