Ex-Payment Systems Regulator boss Hannah Nixon joins Thames Water board

Thames Water has appointed former Payment Systems Regulator chief executive Hannah Nixon as an independent non-executive member of its board.

Nixon joins the water company following more than 25 years’ experience in the regulation, finance and energy sectors, including six years at Ofgem, the gas and electricity regulator.

She was the first chief executive of the Payment Systems Regulator, the economic regulator of the UK’s £80 trillion payments industry and the first regulator of its kind in the world.

During her five years in the role, she introduced new measures to protect consumers from payment fraud and drove innovation and competition within the sector. 

Ian Marchant, Thames Water chairman, said: “I’d like to welcome Nixon to the company. She brings a wealth of experience in economic regulation and competition matters and proven world-class skills as a non-executive director.

“We’ve been going through a lot of change to rebuild trust in recent years, and Nixon’s appointment is another positive step forward in achieving our ambition to build a better future for our customers, communities and the environment.”

Nixon Nixon added: “I look forward to joining Thames Water at this important time as we strive to deliver the best outcomes for our customers and the environment. I’m proud to be joining an organisation that has risen to the challenge of keeping an essential service running throughout the pandemic and supporting customers in financially vulnerable circumstances, while continuing to invest in operations, customer services and water and waste networks.”

Previously, Nixon was senior partner and head of profession for economics at Ofgem, leading the development and implementation of the RIIO price control framework, and was head of regulatory economics at the Office of Rail Regulation.

Nixon also holds non-executive director positions at the National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) and the Jersey Competition & Regulatory Authority.

She replaces non-executive board member Alistair Buchanan, the former chief executive of Ofgem and a former non-executive director of Scottish Water, who joined Thames Water in July 2018.

In 2018, Thames Water pledged independent non-executive directors would form the single largest group on its board, as part of a major review of its corporate structure and governance to boost transparency for customers and stakeholders.