Natural England chief exec joins Yorkshire Water

Dr Helen Phillips, the current chief executive of Natural England, will join Yorkshire Water next year as director of customer service and networks. She replaces Mark Penny, who left the company earlier this year "to pursue other interests".


Dr Phillips will take responsibility for managing the 55,000 miles of water and sewer pipes in Yorkshire Water’s network, as well as the company’s customer service standards.

Yorkshire Water ceo Richard Flint said: “We’re delighted to welcome Helen to her new role at Yorkshire Water. Her mixture of environmental credentials, combined with strong business performance, will be an asset to the company and to the region as a whole, and we look forward to working with her to deliver on our aspirations of taking responsibility for the water environment at every level.”

Dr Phillips responded saying: “I am thrilled to be joining the team at Yorkshire Water. It’s a really exciting opportunity to transfer my experience of and passion for the environment, leading change and performance management to the private sector.

“The last five years have been the most challenging and fulfilling of my professional life, in which I’ve had the privilege of working with dedicated and talented people to make a difference for the natural environment. Having set up Natural England in 2006 and led it through its early changes, my focus over the last 18 months has been to build on already high levels of customer satisfaction by involving them in designing our services and holding us to account.

“I am looking forward to helping Yorkshire Water build on its reputation for customer service and deliver on its vision of taking responsibility for the water environment at every level.”

Will Parsons

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