Water firm strengthens senior leadership team

Edinburgh-based water retailer, Business Stream, has appointed Margaret McLay as its new Director of Business Transformation to help the company deliver its ambitious growth strategy.

Most recently, Margaret was Head of Management Operations at Tesco Bank.  She was part of the team who successfully delivered the transition from RBS to Tesco, including the IT delivery of core infrastructure and software to support the formation of the new Tesco Bank.   Prior to Tesco Bank, Margaret was Head of IT at HBOS where she was responsible for the end to end IT service, delivering best in class customer satisfaction scores.

With a proven track record in change and IT, Margaret will be responsible for leading the effective delivery and coordination of the company’s transformation programme. She will join Business Stream on the 3 June 2019 and report directly to its Chief Executive, Jo Dow.

Commenting on her new appointment, Margaret McLay, said: “I am really excited to be joining Business Stream at a time of significant growth.  In my new role as Director of Business Transformation I am looking forward to working in partnership with the executive team to enable the business to maintain excellent customer service levels and to achieve its strategic goals”.

Jo Dow, Chief Executive of Business Stream, said: “I am delighted that Margaret will be joining the company. It’s an exciting time for the business as we look to expand our market share and deliver a market leading level of service to our customers in Scotland and England. This latest appointment will strengthen our leadership team and help us drive forward our ambitious plans for the future”.

Earlier this year Business Stream bought the customer base of its competitors Yorkshire Water Business Services (YWBS) and Three-Sixty, both part of the Kelda Group, doubling its market share and cementing its position as one of the top three retailers in the UK water market.

Business Stream expanded its operation in April 2017 by acquiring the non-household customer base of Southern Water when it began competing in the new £2.5bn English water market. The new market has enabled 1.2 million businesses and public bodies in England to choose their water supplier for the first time.

Scotland’s non-domestic market, which covers all premises across private and public sector organisations, opened to competition in April 2008. Since then, Business Stream customers have saved more than £242 million on their water bills and conserved over 43 billion litres of water.