Departure announced

Yorkshire Water has announced that chief executive Nicola Shaw will step down after four and a half years in the role. She will leave on 1 January 2027, with Nicola Medalova, a former National Grid executive, joining next week as chief executive-designate before taking over on the same date. Shaw will lead a handover to her successor.

One-star downgrade

The announcement came a day after the Environment Agency downgraded Yorkshire Water from two stars to one star, the lowest possible rating, classing it as poorly performing. Southern, Thames and South West Water were given the same lowest rating. A one-star rating also blocks senior executive bonuses under rules introduced last year.

What the company did not say

The company's announcement did not itself link the departure to the rating, so the timing is reported here as a sequence, not as a stated reason. The downgrade follows the Environment Agency's annual environmental performance assessment, and the company now faces the task of rebuilding its rating under new leadership in the new year.

Sources: Gazette Herald | Business Live