Richard, 42, from Hertfordshire, is the current Chief Financial Officer for Veolia Water UK, Ireland and Northern Europe, and has worked for Veolia since 1997. He said:

"Moving forward we will be focused on raising our performance so that we can truly be recognised as the best water company in the country. Being the best not only means we aim to become more efficient, but we put our customers first, in everything we do. "

"Our customers can continue to expect the highest quality drinking water from us, at a price they can afford. As a customer myself, I can also assure them that if we get things wrong, we'll work to put them right first time".

Richard is a chartered accountant and joined General Utilities PLC, which later became Veolia Water PLC as Group Financial Controller. Since then he has held a number of other posts within the Veolia group. He has been a board director of Veolia Water Central since 2006.

Notes to Editors

1. For more information, contact: Michelle Edgar or Nicola Savage, Communications and Marketing, Tel: 01707 277110; email: news@veoliawater.co.uk

2. A high resolution photograph is available on request.

About Veolia Water

Veolia Water Central is the largest water supply only company in England, serving 3.2million customers in parts of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, the London Boroughs of Harrow and Hillingdon and parts of the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, and Enfield. Veolia Water Central is part of Veolia Water UK, the parent company for several water companies and commercial businesses, supplying more than 3.5 million customers and employing 2,000 staff.

For more information visit www.veoliawater.co.uk/central