The Consumer Council for Water has announced that Mike Keil will take the reins as the CCW’s Interim Chief Executive from next month.
Mike – who is currently the consumer body’s Senior Director for Policy, Research and Campaigns – will step into the shoes of departing CEO Emma Clancy from 2 October.
His appointment will bring valuable continuity, as well as extensive water sector knowledge and experience, to the leadership of CCW as it begins the search for a permanent Chief Executive.
Rob Light, Chair of CCW, said:
“Mike has already shown himself to be an outstanding leader so his appointment is excellent news for CCW and the people it serves. He has a wealth of experience of the water sector and has been at the forefront of helping to transform CCW into an effective campaigning organisation. I know Mike will do a great job leading CCW over the next few months.”
Mike joined CCW in May 2017 as its Head of Policy and Research, having previously been Business Leader for Asset Strategy at Severn Trent Water.
He spent the first decade of his career at the Met Office, during which time he completed his PhD in modelling the stratosphere. He helped expand the Met Office’s work on space weather and, when he left, was leading its middle atmosphere research group.
His first move into the water sector came in 2007 when he joined water industry regulator Ofwat as its first head of climate change policy and wrote its policy statement on the topic. He was also responsible for assessing the climate change elements of the 2009 Price Review.
Mike joined Severn Trent Water in 2011 and went on to lead the company’s work on climate change and resilience before holding a series of other roles that would eventually take him into asset management.
Since joining CCW he has played a leading role in developing the organisation’s policy and research work to help shape and inform its campaigns. He is also one of the hosts of CCW’s Waterfall podcast, which was launched during the 2022 drought to help people understand the value of water and how to use it more wisely.
