water2business appoints new chief operating officer

We're delighted to announce the appointment of Barry Hayward as our new chief operating officer. Barry joins us from Wessex Water, where he was previously head of internal audit.

Barry takes over the reins from Lynne Stephens, who is retiring after a 38-year career in the water industry. Lynne has held the COO role at water2business since July 2017 and was previously head of credit management at Pelican Business Services, the joint billing venture between Bristol Water and Wessex Water.

Barry's 17 years in the industry has covered various roles in commercial finance, developer services, engineering, operational customer contact and auditing, meaning he is well-placed to lead water2business' day-to-day and strategic long-term operations.

His new role makes him responsible for ensuring day-to-day operations at water2business run smoothly and that business customers always receive the highest standard of service.

Barry said: "I'm delighted to be joining the motivated, hard-working and customer-focused team that is water2business, and look forward to being a part of the evolving retail market."

Since the water retail market opened in April 2017 water2business has achieved substantial commercial growth, winning national contracts with customers across multiple sectors and delivering savings for them with tailored water and wastewater management plans. It has also been praised for its customer service and in June 2018, it was revealed as having the lowest number of customer complaints of any large water retailer in the industry.

Charley Maher, managing director of water2business, said: "On behalf of everyone at water2business I'd like to thank Lynne for her commitment and dedication to the business. Her extensive experience in leading people, customer services and in the water industry itself has helped shape water2business into the leading retailer that it is today. We wish her a happy and well-deserved retirement and I look forward to the new dynamic that Barry will bring to the team."