Utilities

Utility organisations must weigh what shareholders and investors expect against what economic, environmental and quality regulators require. Leaders in this sector need hands-on experience of the industry, strong commercial acumen and a firm grasp of how regulatory decisions are made, a combination that is rarely found through advertising alone.

As specialist utilities headhunters, we approach high-performing individuals who are already in post and not actively looking for a move. Our Utilities practice works closely with our infrastructure executive search team and draws on the engineering and construction leaders on which utility capital programmes depend.

Utilities leaders we appoint

Stone Executive makes appointments across the full leadership of a utility organisation, covering the board and executive committee as well as the functional directors responsible for assets, customers and regulatory performance. The ownership of the organisation, its regulatory position and the stage its investment programme has reached all shape each appointment.

• Chief executive officers, managing directors and chief operating officers
• Finance directors and chief financial officers
• Customer directors and chief customer officers
• Operations, network and asset management directors
• Programme and capital delivery directors
• Regulation directors, including economic regulation
• Business development and commercial leaders
• Non-executive directors and chairs

Utilities sub-sectors we cover

Our Utilities practice spans the regulated network businesses supplying water, gas and electricity, and the specialist providers that serve them. Each sub-sector brings its own regulator, investment cycle and leadership population, and we map every search to suit.

Water and wastewater

Our coverage includes water supply, sewerage and wastewater treatment. It spans water-only companies, water and sewerage companies, and the specialist providers that support them. Our water sector executive search draws on leaders with operational, asset management and customer experience in clean water and wastewater.

Gas and electricity networks

Our coverage includes gas transmission and distribution, and electricity transmission and distribution, where network operators work within price controls set by Ofgem. Searches for electricity generation leadership run alongside our power generation and distribution practice.

Utility services and the supply chain

Our coverage includes metering, connections, network maintenance and emergency water supply, together with the contractors that carry out work for asset owners. These appointments often sit close to our utility services and facilities management practice, and they call for leaders who understand both the client utility and the commercial realities of a services business.

What is changing in Utilities leadership

Utilities leadership is changing because new price control periods have started in water and in energy networks, and because water company executives now face statutory rules on pay and on fitness for senior roles. Both developments raise the standard expected of the leaders a utility appoints.

In water, Ofwat’s 2024 price review set the limits on what water companies in England and Wales can charge between 2025 and 2030, and Ofwat describes the settlement as a quadrupling of investment in the sector over those five years. This programme makes leadership in capital delivery, asset management and the supply chain a central part of many water company appointments.

The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 requires Ofwat to issue rules that prohibit performance-related pay for chief executives and directors of water companies in any financial year in which the company fails to meet specified standards. Those rules must also set fitness and propriety standards for anyone appointed to a senior role, so every senior water appointment calls for thorough assessment and referencing.

In gas and electricity networks, Ofgem’s RIIO-3 price controls for electricity transmission, gas transmission and gas distribution run from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2031. For a network operator, that period sets out the investment plan and the outputs a newly appointed executive will be expected to deliver.

Track record in Utilities appointments

Stone Executive has operated as a retained headhunting practice for twenty years and has completed more than 1,000 senior appointments across its sectors. The firm is recognised in the Financial Times’ UK’s Leading Recruiters 2024, operates from six UK offices and is boutique by design, with every search partner-led from brief to appointment.

In the water sector, our Head of Business Development search for Arlington Water Services, a family-owned provider of emergency clean water services, supported the company’s national growth strategy. The brief called for water sector experience, ideally in clean water, combined with commercial leadership, project delivery oversight and a base within commuting distance of the company’s Wiltshire headquarters. We carried out market mapping and competitor research, then ran a targeted headhunting campaign across the water and facilities management sectors. The appointed candidate combined sector knowledge with project leadership experience and lives 30 minutes from the headquarters.

Our Utilities executive search process

Our Utilities executive search process is a retained, research-led sequence, led by a partner from brief to appointment. A typical search moves from the confirmed brief to an accepted offer within four to eight weeks.

Weeks 1 to 2: Brief and market map. We work directly with the chair, chief executive or executive responsible for the appointment to establish the accountabilities, the regulatory context and the culture the new leader will join. We then identify the organisations and leadership populations worth approaching, across utilities and the adjacent sectors where the skills overlap.

Weeks 2 to 4: Direct approach and assessment. We approach candidates directly and in confidence, with a clear account of the opportunity. Interested candidates are assessed against the brief on operational command, commercial judgement and regulatory understanding.

Weeks 4 to 6: Shortlist and interviews. We present a shortlist with detailed written profiles, coordinate each interview stage and give structured feedback to both client and candidate.

Weeks 6 to 8: Offer and onboarding. We manage the offer and the remuneration discussion, complete referencing, and remain in contact through the notice period and the first months in post.

FAQs

To discuss a senior Utilities appointment, please contact our team on 0333 800 1560.