Richard Ackroyd

Introduction

According to his Scottish Water Biography, where he is currently Chief Executive, "Richard Ackroyd was appointed as Chief Executive on 25 March 2008 and has twenty years experience in the water industry. Prior to joining Scottish Water Richard had been Director of Regulation and Investment at Yorkshire Water since 1996 with, amongst other issues, responsibility for regulatory matters and investment programmes. Richard was also Chairman of Water UK from 2006 to 2008. He is a solicitor by profession and has previously been Head of Legal Services for Yorkshire Water following a period in private practice" .

It is said that Richard Ackroyd's style of management is less conducive to partnership working with the employees of Scottish Water than that of his predecessor, Jon Hargreaves. On November 27th 2008 Scottish Water staff took industrial action for the first time in a number of years. The workers justified their action by the forced imposition of a pay offer and the resultant wihdrawal of Scottish Water from the ongoing pay negotiations. The offer itself was a 2.4% increase, whilst inflation is currently running at nearer 5%, this alongside the manner of the offer was unacceptable to the the members of the three Unions in the water industry. Richard Ackroyd and the management of Scottish Water were not sufficiently persuaded to increase the offer to meet the demands of their employees. Richard Ackroyd himself earns £260,000 per annum. This unrest does mark a new phase in the short 6 year history of Scottish Water however, how it develops in the future will test Richard Ackroyds capacity as Chief Executive.