Meet the board

Ruth joined Wessex Water in 2016 after a legal career in London and Bristol, specialising in competition law issues across a broad range of sectors and clients.

With extensive experience dealing with legal, compliance and governance matters, Ruth previously held the positions of Chief Compliance Officer and Group General Counsel before moving into the Chief Executive role in October 2024.

She was appointed to the board of Wessex Water Services Limited in September 2022 and is also a board member of our joint billing company, the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership and a local charity.

Andy has more than 30 years of extensive financial and regulatory experience in the water sector. In his time at Wessex Water, he has been the Managing Director of our water and sewerage business and Director of Regulation and Customer Services.

Andy is now the Chief Finance Officer, as well as a Chartered Director and Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a member of the Wessex Water board.

He is also Co-Chair of Pelican Business Services, a founding member of the Environmental Markets Board and Chair of Wessex WaterAid.

Jim has a background in technology and services, working with a number of early-stage technology companies as both an investor and mentor. In his executive career, Jim was the Chief Operating Officer at Logica PLC having previously worked for GEC-Marconi and the Plessey Company PLC.

Appointed to the Board of Wessex Water Services Limited in June 2019, he became the Senior Independent Director in November 2020. Jim is a member of the nominations, remuneration and audit committees.

Jim is the chairman of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He is also vice-president of Catch22, a social business he helped create in 2008.

Previously chairman of Parsons Brinkerhoff (Europe) and chairman of Azzurri Communications, Jim also chaired the Council at the University of East London and was a member of the Government’s Senior Salaries Review Board.

Kate Mingay is a corporate finance specialist with three decades of experience across regulated utilities, transport, and energy infrastructure. Kate began her career in UBS and Goldman Sachs, later becoming Director, Corporate Finance at the Department of Transport. She was a member of HM Treasury’s Major Projects Review Group, which involves scrutiny of major government projects.

Appointed to the board of Wessex Water Services Limited in June 2019, Kate was appointed Chair of the Audit and Risk committee in August 2020. She is also a member of the remuneration, nomination, and environmental and public value committees.

Kate is also Non-Executive Director to the Board of HRL Morrison and Co, a leading global infrastructure fund manager.She was previously the Senior Independent Director at Mutual Energy, a Non-Executive Director at Ansaldo STS S.p.A. (now integrated into Hitachi’s global rail business) and a Trustee of the British Science Association.She is actively involved in economic and corporate finance consulting including being a Senior Adviser at Cambridge Economics Policy Associates and also advises Ofgem in the offshore transmission and nuclear sectors.

Tim’s career began in broadcasting at the BBC where he was Editor of Newsnight, Panorama, and Head of Current Affairs Programmes, and then went on to executive roles at Channel 5 and Channel 4 TV.  Tim has held several senior roles across a variety of commercial, regulated and consumer sectors.

Appointed to the board of Wessex Water Services Limited in January 2020, Tim is a member of the audit and risk and nomination committees.  He is also a member of the Futures Panel.

Tim was previously the Chair of the Consumers Association (Which?).  He also was a non-executive member of the Ofcom board from 2008 to 2015.  Tim was also the Principal of St Anne’s College at the University of Oxford from 2004-2016.  Tim is currently the Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation.

Kevin has extensive experience in the banking and finance sectors having spent four decades working for Barclays Bank in various senior leadership roles in the UK and overseas. Kevin retired from Barclays Bank in 2020 and his last role was as CEO and Board member of Barclays European subsidiary as well as being a member of the Barclays Bank PLC executive committee.

Appointed to the Board of Wessex Water Services Limited in January 2021, Kevin is a member of the Audit and Risk, Health and Safety, Environment and Public Value, Remuneration and Nomination committee, as well as chairing the Pension Trustees Board. Kevin also acts as a senior advisor to Panmure Gordon, investment bank, is a board observer at Zero Gravity, an online educational platform, and chairs FreeMarket Ireland, a payments provider.

Kevin was previously a non-executive director of Which? Limited, the Business Growth Fund and served as a trustee director of the Barclays Pension Fund.

Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE was Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge from 2012 until 2021. She came to the college from the National Trust, where she was Director-General from 2001-2012. Before the Trust, she was Director of the Women’s Unit in the Cabinet Office (1998-2000), Director of the Council for the Protection of Rural England (now Campaign to Protect Rural England) from 1987-98 and Secretary to the Council for National Parks (now Campaign to Protect National Parks) from 1980-87.

Fiona holds a number of other non-Executive roles. She is Chair of the National Audit Office, the International National Trusts Organisation, the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden and its Bennett Institute for Public Policy. She is Vice-Chair of the Royal Agricultural University’s Governing Council, and a Trustee of the Grosvenor Estate and the charity Green Alliance. Her book The Fight for Beauty was published in 2016.

Francis has been managing director of YTL Corporation Berhad, Malaysia, since 1988 and was appointed as executive chairman in June 2018. He was appointed to the board of Wessex Water Services Limited in May 2002 and chairs the nomination committee.

He has been managing director of YTL Power since October 1996 when he was appointed to the board as an executive director. Since June 2018 he has been the executive chairman of YTL Power. Under his stewardship, YTL Corporation Berhad Group has grown from a single listed company into a global integrated infrastructure developer encompassing multiple listed entities including YTL Corporation Berhad, YTL Power International Berhad, Malayan Cement Berhad, YTL Hospitality REIT, and Starhill Global REIT.

He is a founder member of the Malaysia Business Council, a member of Malaysia's Capital Markets Advisory Council and independent non-executive director of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.

In 1997 Francis was conferred the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia for his services to the nation which carries the title “Tan Sri”. In 2019 he was awarded the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution in strengthening UK-Malaysia bilateral relations.

Hong is the managing director of YTL Power International Berhad, parent company of Wessex Water. He has been an executive director of YTL Corporation Berhad, Malaysia since 1985 and spearheads the group’s investments in utilities, infrastructure and building of the fourth generation (4G) network businesses. He is also managing director of the YTL Group’s flagship construction company and a telecommunications company.

He has been a director of Wessex Water Services Limited since May 2002, a member of the nomination committee and also chairs the remuneration committee. He is a trustee of YTL Foundation.

Mark is executive director responsible for the YTL hotels and resorts division. He was appointed to the board of Wessex Water Services Limited in July 2003 and is a member of the remuneration committee. He joined the YTL Group in 1989 and serves on the board of YTL Corporation Berhad, YTL Power International Berhad, YTL Land & Development Berhad, and YTL Cement Berhad.

He is also an executive director and chief executive officer of Pintar Projek Sdn Bhd, the manager of YTL Hospitality REIT. He graduated from King's College, University of London with an LLB (Hons) and was subsequently called to the bar at Gray's Inn, London in 1988. He became a Fellow of King's College London in July 2014.

Hann heads the investments, digital and infrastructure portfolio of the YTL Power Group.

A graduate of Oxford University with a Master of Engineering in engineering science, Hann also sits on the board of YTL PowerSeraya Pte Limited in Singapore and is the President Director of Tanjong Jati Power Company in Indonesia.

Hann led the team that set up Geneco, now Singapore’s largest energy retailer, and YTL Data Centers as well as a new digital banking venture in Malaysia.

He has been a director of Wessex Water Services Limited since August 2012.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the city, David has an in-depth knowledge of corporate finance and corporate governance. He has held directorships in a wide variety of sectors including engineering, construction, retail and investment management. David was previously the Deputy Chairman of the British Library and is currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Maudsley Charity.

David assisted YTL Corporation with its acquisition of Wessex Water in 2002 and since then has been a director of Wessex Water Services Limited. David formerly chaired the audit and risk committee and is also a director of Wessex Water Limited, the holding company for Wessex Water Services, and YTL Land and Property Limited.