Executive team

Andy Willicott, Managing Director

Andy was appointed as managing director in May 2020, having previously been transformation director at Bristol Water. 

His past roles include executive director with Pennon Group and chief operating officer for Sydney Water, with responsibility for all aspects of frontline water and waste water treatment, network operations and customer delivery.  

He has a passion for first-class delivery of service and a huge experience in digital transformation. 

Caroline Cooper, Strategy and Regulation Director
Caroline was appointed in 2020, having previously been responsible for our successful PR19 submission, developing a business plan which delivers for our customers and the environment. This saw us secure over £660m of funding for the period 2020-25.

Caroline has spent all of her career in the water sector, previously working for Severn Trent Water until she joined South Staffs Water in 2003. She originally joined as an analyst in asset management and has progressed through a number of roles within the business, with her extensive knowledge in asset management, business planning and strategy development.

Andrew Lobley, Operations Director

Andrew was appointed in 2021. He started his career over 16 years ago at Cambridge Water, in the engineering office. He then moved into water quality, which saw him achieve a PhD in water quality risk management. 

In 2008, Andrew joined Welsh Water - initially overseeing its drinking water safety plans, and later its clean water risk processes.

In 2014, he joined South Staffs Water as Head of Water Quality and in 2017 took on the role of Director of Operations.

Tom Fewster, Asset Management and Investment Delivery Director

Tom was appointed in 2022, and is responsible for delivering our ambitious asset management projects across both regions, including capital works and new investment.  He also oversees our commitment to support the water industry’s road to net zero.

Tom has a huge amount of experience managing major capital projects and programmes in the sector, as well as in renewable energy and the environment. He has previously managed capital project programmes at United Utilities and the Environment Agency, as well as managing the development of renewable energy generation assets for RES Group. 

 
Robert Boswell, Energy and Asset Performance Director

Robert was appointed in June 2023. He started his career with South Staffs Water over 27 years ago, and has been responsible for delivering operational experience throughout multiple front-line departments, specialising in energy, water production and civil engineering.

In this role, Robert oversees the delivery of projects and operational technologies, focusing on managing one of our biggest operational costs, energy, and tackling how we become greener, whilst developing smarter networks.