Executive team
Phil Newland
Group Chief Executive
Appointed as Group Chief Executive in April 2020, having previously been Managing Director of South Staffs Water since 2014 and, prior to this, Managing Director of Echo Managed Services since 2006. Prior to joining Echo, Phil was a Management Consultant with Automatic Data Processing (ADP) and Terence Chapman Associates.
Rob O’Malley
Group Chief Financial Officer
Appointed CFO of South Staffordshire Plc in March 2020 having previously held senior finance roles in energy networks and utilities. He is responsible for the Group’s central support services operation, which includes Group Finance and IT services. Prior to joining, Rob was formerly Group Treasurer at Cadent Gas and Head of Corporate Finance at Electricity North West. Earlier in his career he was with United Utilities and NatWest.
Anna Fell
Group HR Director
Appointed as SSPlc’s first Group HR Director in June 2021 having previously been the Director of People & Development for Echo Managed Services since April 2014. Prior to joining the Group Anna held senior HR roles at Nestle and Unipart. Through her career Anna has worked within rail, manufacturing and logistics bringing a wealth of experience to the Group.
David Brend
Group Business Development Director
Appointed as Group Business Development Director in August 2022, having previously held senior sales and operational leadership roles in the water and energy sectors. David was most recently Director of Business Development for SSE and played a key leadership role in developing the company’s distributed energy portfolio and market presence. Prior to this he held positions as Sales Director, for Siemens Plc. Energy Management Division and Business Development Director, Energy for Jacobs Engineering.
Andrew Willicott
Managing Director – South Staffs Water
Appointed as Managing Director of South Staffs Water in May 2020, having joined from a position of Transformation Director at Bristol Water. Prior to this, Andrew has held positions as Chief Operating Officer for Sydney Water and Executive Director with Pennon Group. Andrew was also formerly Chairman of the Corporate IT Association and Deputy Chair of the South West Institute of Directors.
Monica Mackintosh
Managing Director – Echo Managed Services
Appointed Managing Director of Echo Managed Services in December 2018, Monica has been a member of Echo’s Board for seven years and during this time headed up both the software and customer service areas of the business before her appointment as Managing Director. Prior to joining Echo, Monica held a variety of positions with Severn Trent Water and Complete Credit Management.
Neil Shailer
Managing Director – Compliance
Appointed as Managing Director for SSI Services’ Compliance Business and as Managing Director of IWS Water Hygiene in April 2020, having previously been Managing Director for Omega Red Group since 2015. Prior to joining the Group, Neil held the positions of UK Operations Director for Bilfinger Industrial Services and Managing Director for AIM listed Alkane Energy, having spent his early career at Siemens.
Simon Dray
Managing Director – Water, Waste and Infrastructure
Appointed as Managing Director of several of the Water and Gas businesses in SSI Services in 2019, Simon joined the Group in 2007 as Managing Director for Hydrosave and has been part of the SSI Services team during a significant growth period. Simon has worked in the water industry for over 30 years, and previously worked for Anglian Water and Parkman Consulting Engineers.