Executive team

Charley Maher

Chief Executive Officer

Appointed CEO of South Staffordshire Plc in September 2023 having previously held senior leadership roles in financial services and utilities. Prior to joining, Charley worked for YTL UK, as Chief Commercial Officer of Wessex Water Group, and Managing Director at Pelican Business Services and water2business. Earlier in her career she was with NatWest and the RBS Group.


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.


Barry Hayward

Chief Commercial Officer

Appointed CCO of South Staffordshire Plc in January 2024 having previously held senior leadership roles in the utilities sector. Prior to joining, Barry worked for Wessex Water Enterprises, as Managing Director of GENeco, Nest Homes, Wessex Searches and Swiss Combi Technology. Prior to this, he held a range of senior roles including operational leadership positions at Wessex Water and Managing Director roles at water 2 business, Flipper and Albion Water.


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.


Steven Draper

Managing Director – Infrastructure Gateway

Appointed as Managing Director of Infrastructure Gateway in May 2018. Steven has worked in the engineering and utilities sector for over 20 years starting in the water and wastewater arena before joining Infrastructure Gateway in 2008 where he has worked with the team and been integral in the significant growth the business has seen, before becoming a member of the group in January 2023.


Caroline Stretton

Company Secretary