UKWIR New CEO

Published On 17/02/2025

UKWIR appoints new chief executive officer

Today, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Mike Rose as UKWIR’s new chief executive officer with immediate effect.

With a career including senior positions in utilities and global consultancy organisations, Rose brings diverse experience to UKWIR. His appointment comes at a crucial time for the water sector, with challenges including climate change & resilience, improvements in river water quality and evolving customer expectations.

UKWIR is committed to enabling the industry in meeting these challenges through delivery of collaborative research bringing together partners with the right skills and the new leadership will be instrumental in driving this mission forward.

UKWIR Chair Richard Warneford said, "We are delighted to be able to appoint such a high calibre individual to this position. Mike Rose's understanding and experience in multiple sectors including water, coupled with his strategic vision and proven leadership capabilities, makes him the perfect choice to lead UKWIR as we navigate the evolving landscape and strive to deliver solutions for the sector and society in general. Mike’s experience in asset management and technology, combined with his global perspective, will be invaluable as we work to address the critical challenges facing the UK water industry and ensure a sustainable future.”

In 2024, Rose founded Asset Intelligence Advisory, a professional services consultancy with a strong focus on operations, asset management and sustainability across heavily regulated sectors, including water, energy and transport. That followed a number of senior positions including global sales director and chief strategy officer at Arcadis – a leading global consultancy delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy services for natural and built assets. Here he was instrumental in launching and scaling their digital software and solution business helping asset intensive organisations optimise performance and deliver greater value.

Rose's earlier career included leadership roles at United Utilities, where he was head of asset management & planning until 2016. He holds a Masters in Water, Energy and the Environment and is a Chartered Management Consultant.

"I am honoured to join UKWIR at this crucial time for the water industry," said Rose. "The sector is at a pivotal confluence, traditional solutions and current ways of working will not enable us to meet the challenges and opportunities we and future generations face.

“I'm excited to be asked to take the organisation forward, shaping and delivering at pace collaborative research which unlocks new thinking, partnerships and better outcomes for our members and their customers."

Rose succeeds Steve Kaye, who served as CEO of UKWIR for six years.