Waimea Water selects CEO

A chief executive officer and two board directors have been appointed by Waimea Water Limited (WWL), the council-controlled organisation responsible for building and operating the Waimea Community Dam.

Mike Scott will start as Chief Executive Officer with WWL in May. He is currently serving in two executive management roles for Woodside Energy Limited in Australia, including as Chief Executive Officer to the North West Shelf LNG Joint Venture Project. With over 27 years post-graduate experience in predominantly the energy sector, Mike has been involved with business and commercial development, strategy, planning, governance, operations, and engineering roles in Australia, Scotland, the United States, and New Zealand.

Mike has been a Richmond resident and ratepayer since 2012. He says he’s excited to put his experience and expertise toward leading the team building the Dam because it will contribute significantly to the region’s future in so many ways.

“I recognise this is a large and important project for our region to undertake,” Mike says. “As a Tasman resident, I am excited to contribute to our community by ensuring the future of our region’s water security, economic prosperity and the betterment of our environment.”

“Future generations living and working in our region won’t have to experience the difficult drought conditions we are seeing right now. I look forward to the day that we all look back and think, similar to Nelson’s Maitai Dam, that Tasman made a sound decision that supports the future of our region.”

Two directors were also appointed to the board this week, Andrew Spittal and David Wright. Andrew is a Director and Shareholder in a number of local companies and a national company. Andrew is Ngati Koata’s nominated Board Director and brings a vast range of experience and knowledge of the local civil construction industry that he has been a part of for well over 25 years.

David is a company director, management consultant and chief executive. He is currently Chair of Wellington Water Limited and a Director of the Waikato District Council Waters Governance Board, both council controlled organisations providing drinking water, storm water and waste water services. He is a previous acting chief executive of Palmerston North City Council.

Board Chair Karen Jordan says the Nelson Tasman community can have confidence that the organisation’s leadership is of a very high calibre and the entire team is now working toward the start of construction. The now complete board is well balanced and includes two highly experienced dam engineers, a farmer, and a horticulturalist with long ties to the area.