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Tony Smith is to step down as chief executive of the Consumer council for Water (CCWater) in June.
Smith will retire next year after 14 years in the role and nearly three decades in the water sector.
He has led CCWater since its formation in October 2005, at a time when the water sector struggled to manage customer complaints.
“I’m particularly proud that we were able to put customers at the heart of the price review process, turn around the industry’s poor record on complaints and bolster support for some of the most vulnerable households. There’s still a huge amount more to be done but the industry is in far better shape than when we first arrived on the scene,” Smith said.
CCWater said Smith argued for a “huge increase” in the influence of customers on the industry and its regulation, which had “grown to unprecedented levels”. He also oversaw work to challenge the way companies handled complaints to resolve problems in the first instance and address customer frustrations.
CCWater’s chair Rob Light, said: “Tony has made an immense contribution to the significant improvements we’ve seen in the water industry over the past 14 years. The voice of the customer now carries much more weight with companies, regulators and government and he must take enormous credit for that.”
Smith will guide CCWater through the final phase PR19 and the first half of 2020 until his successor is appointed.
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