Yorkshire Water CEO Nicola Shaw to step down after one-star rating
Nicola Shaw will leave Yorkshire Water on 1 January after the Environment Agency gave the firm its lowest one-star environmental rating.
The story in focus
Yorkshire Water chief executive Nicola Shaw will step down on 1 January, a day after the Environment Agency gave the company its lowest one-star environmental rating, BBC News reported. Nicola Medalova, a former non-executive director, will succeed her and joins Monday for a transition period.
- Nicola Shaw has led Yorkshire Water since 2022 and leaves on 1 January.
- The Environment Agency rated the company one star out of four, its lowest possible score.
- The EA attributed 260 pollution incidents in 2025 to Yorkshire Water, its highest since 2011.
- Shaw received £1.9m in undisclosed payments from parent Kelda Holdings between 2023 and 2026, which Ofwat said were not performance-related.
- Nicola Medalova, a chartered environmental health officer, joins Monday for a transition period before taking the CEO role full time.
Rating and departure
BBC News reported that Yorkshire Water chief executive Nicola Shaw announced her departure 24 hours after the Environment Agency gave the company one star out of four, its lowest possible rating, classing it as a poorly performing company.
The EA said Yorkshire Water was responsible for 260 pollution incidents in 2025, the highest total since 2011, according to the report. Shaw, who has led the firm since 2022, said in a statement that it was the right time to leave and that she was proud of colleagues' work, while acknowledging more work remained.
Yorkshire Water said Nicola Medalova, a former non-executive director and chartered environmental health officer, will join Monday for a transition period before assuming the chief executive role full time in the new year.
Payments and reaction
The report noted Shaw received £1.9m in previously undisclosed shareholder-funded payments from parent company Kelda Holdings between 2023 and 2026. Yorkshire Water described the payments as for investor engagement and financial oversight, and Ofwat said they were not performance-related.
Shaw said in December last year that not being transparent about receiving £1.3m in shareholder-funded payments across two instalments had been a mistake, and she received a further £660,000 this year, according to BBC News.
MPs from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Conservatives criticised the company's performance and welcomed or pressed for faster change, while campaigners said leadership change alone would not address system-wide failures.
When does Nicola Shaw leave Yorkshire Water and who succeeds her?
Shaw leaves on 1 January. Nicola Medalova, a former non-executive director and chartered environmental health officer, joins Monday for a transition period before taking the chief executive role full time in the new year.
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