Yorkshire Water Chief Quits a Day After One-Star Rating
Nicola Shaw will step down as Yorkshire Water’s chief executive on 1 January. Her announcement came 24 hours after the Environment Agency gave the company its lowest rating and classed it as ‘poorly performing’. The regulator said the firm was responsible for 260 pollution incidents in 2025, its highest total since 2011. Nicola Medalova, who previously worked at National Grid, will succeed her.
Shaw had been criticised for receiving £1.9m in previously undisclosed payments from the parent company, Kelda Holdings, between 2023 and 2026. “Although there remains a huge amount of work to do, I am extremely proud of what our colleagues have achieved,” she said. The Liberal Democrat MP Tom Gordon was blunter: “Good riddance.” Ofwat fined the company £47m in 2024 for historic sewage leaks. Medalova joins on Monday for a handover period before taking over in the new year.