Our Board

Frédéric Devos is a graduate Ingénieur of l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Industries Agro Alimentaires. He began his career in 1987 as an entrepreneur then joined Veolia Water in 1990 heading up the division of Compagnie Générale des Eaux responsible for delivering water to the 45 municipalities in the northern suburbs of Paris.

In 1995, he was seconded to Veolia Water UK and Ireland as a Project Director for the account of the Irish Ministry of the Environment.

Moving to mainland Britain in 1996, Frédéric occupied the posts of Operations and Development Manager and Commercial Development Manager for Three Valleys Water. From 1998-2000, he joined the head offices of Veolia Water UK as Senior Business Development Executive, working closely with the Chief Executive Officer.

In 2000, he returned to France to work as Strategy Director for Veolia Water Europe and more recently, as Executive Vice President of Veolia Water with worldwide responsibilities for industrial markets.

Frédéric was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water UK, Ireland and Northern Europe in December 2007.

Richard Bienfait was appointed to the Board of Veolia Water UK PLC on 1 January 2004 with responsibility for finance, procurement and investment control.

In March 2010, Richard was appointed Managing Director of Veolia Water Central.

Richard began his career with Veolia Water in 1997 when he joined as Group Financial Controller at General Utilities PLC, which later became Veolia Water PLC. Before joining the Board, he held other senior posts within Three Valleys Water and Veolia Water UK.

After graduating from Exeter University in 1991 with a BA Hons in Economics, Richard started his career with accountants Ernst & Young before working for PepsiCo in the UK.

Richard is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and an associate member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

As Legal Director of Veolia Water UK PLC, Michael Butcher set up its Legal Department and is responsible for all advice given in respect of Veolia Water's interests in water businesses in the UK and Ireland. Michael also co-ordinates legal affairs for the UK interests of Veolia Environnement.

Previously Michael helped set up Central Railway PLC as Managing Director and General Counsel. Prior to that, he was Group Legal Director and Company Secretary for Eurotunnel, in charge of setting up and running the legal function.

Following qualification as a barrister, Michael joined the legal department of Esso UK and over thirteen years, was involved with Exxon assignments on the continent and in the USA.

Michael is President of the Franco-British Lawyers Society, a Consultant to Triplet & Associés and Reynolds Porter Chamberlain and is involved with Central Railway.

John Gummer was Margaret Thatcher's Chairman of the Conservative Party and for 16 years a minister, culminating as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and then Secretary of State for the Environment. His experience as an international negotiator has earned him worldwide respect both in the business community and among environmentalists.

Prior to his ministerial career John was a successful businessman and chairman of a medium-sized PLC. In consecutive years, the BBC unprecedentedly awarded him the title "Parliamentarian who did most for the Environment Internationally", while the NGO community called him "the best Environment Secretary we have ever had".

Since leaving office, John has been appointed Chairman of the International Commission on Sustainable Consumption. He is also Chairman of: The Sancroft Group, the Association of Independent Financial Advisors (AIFA) and Valpak Ltd.

In addition, John is the Member of Parliament for the Suffolk Coastal constituency.

Following his graduation as an Engineer at Polytech Montpellier in 1984, Philippe Guitard started his career as a Projects Engineer - Head of Industrial Water in SOGEA (CGE group). He later became Operations Engineer in Bergerac, followed by an appointment as Head of Branch in Mandelieu La Napouleand Cagnes sur Mer in the water and ozone supply company.

Philippe joined the Compagnie Générale des Eaux in 1995 as Regional Director in Ponce, Puerto Rico and in 1997 he moved to the Czech Republic as a Director of the Vodarna Plzen subsidiary. In 1999 he was appointed Managing Director of Veolia Water in the Czech Republic and in 2002 he became Managing Director of Veolia Water for Central Europe and Russia.

On 15 April 2008 he was appointed Director of Veolia Water for Europe (excluding France).

After graduating with a Masters degree in Finance Management, he held financial and management positions before joining the Veolia Water group in 1995 as Deputy Finance Director for Asia, Eastern and Southern Europe.

Between July 2002 and June 2008, Etienne was Executive Vice President for Central Europe and Russia before becoming Executive Vice President for Europe. Etienne joined the Board for Veolia Water UK PLC in June 2008.

A Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, David Alexander has 38 years experience of the water supply industry and currently holds the post of Non-Executive Director of Veolia Water UK PLC and Three Valleys Water PLC.

David retired from his position of Managing Director of Veolia Water UK PLC in December 2007. Previous appointments included Managing Director of Three Valleys Water PLC and Managing Director of North Surrey Water Ltd. He is also Master of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers.

Jean-Claude Banon is a graduate of the Engineering School, Ecole des Mines, Nancy, France and completed his MBA at Colombia University, New York, in 1970.

After holding several executive positions in the financial sector and in the metals industry, Jean-Claude joined Compagnie Générale des Eaux (now Veolia Environnement) with the responsibility of developing the Group in the USA and the UK. By 1989, he became CEO of Veolia Environnement's holding company in the UK covering the waste, water and energy business and Managing Director of the water activity.

Since 2005 he has been the Executive Representative of Veolia Environnement with the European Institutions, promoting the company's strategic interests in the EU and monitoring regulatory activity for its four divisions.

Jean-Claude is also a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur.

Jean-Dominique Mallet is Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Environmental Services in the United Kingdom, and Executive Vice President of Veolia Environmental Services.

Jean-Dominique was appointed to this position in June 2007 in addition to his responsibilities as Executive Vice-President for Northern Europe and Australia. Jean-Dominique is also a member of the company's Executive Committee and retains responsibility for its technical and greenhouse gas departments.

Jean-Dominique joined the Veolia Environnement group in 1990. He is highly experienced in the waste management sector having moved to the waste management arm of Veolia Environnement in 1994. Prior to his promotion, Jean-Dominique supervised the company's activities in Australia, Africa, Middle East and Southern Europe.

Jean-Dominique started his career at Continental Illinois Bank, Chicago and then B.A.I.I. Bank in Paris where he headed the commercial banking department before joining the construction group of Compagnie Générale des Eaux. He holds a Masters in civil engineering from ESTP, a Masters of Economics from La Sorbonne and an MBA for the University of Notre Dame (USA).