Tim has worked at Thames Water for 17 years as a research scientist, innovation lead and technical specialist in water networks. He applies a scientific approach and detailed eye to a portfolio of mains deterioration, failure and intervention topics, including pipe condition assessment, monitoring and leakage. He collaborates extensively across the water industry through UKWIR, water network specialist groups and Ofwat Innovation Fund projects. Before joining Thames, he gained a PhD from the University of Bristol, where he worked on early development of the pipe cleaning technique known as ‘ice pigging’.

Tim helps decision-makers in water companies gain the clarity they need to better manage their networks. He is an environmental data scientist, who has spent much of the last 21 years studying the interactions between soil, weather and infrastructure failures. He helps water companies model the effects of climate change on their networks so they can demonstrate the scale of the coming challenges to regulators and investors, and focus their short-term resources more efficiently to maximise long-term resilience. Tim is passionate about helping leaders change their organisations for the betterment of the people they serve, now and in the future.

Matt has more than 18 years’ experience in utility operations and project management, and plays a critical role in driving operational efficiency, safety and performance across field and office teams requiring the management of complex logistics, and ensuring consistent delivery under pressure. He works closely with Southern Water’s senior leadership to ensure day-to-day operations align with strategic objectives. With a hands-on leadership style and dedication to continuous improvement, Matt fosters a culture of collaboration and accountability throughout the whole team. He is passionate about developing talent and cultivating a positive working environment that encourages growth, innovation and professional development.

Simon has 27 years’ water management experience at Thames Water, where he specialises in leakage detection and repair. As one of the senior research scientists and engineers on the innovation team, he leads the development of advanced solutions to minimise water loss. He’s passionate about driving sustainable, resilient water infrastructure for the communities the company serves. Simon is currently working with fibre for leak locating and no-dig solutions for repair, and believes more work is required on the ‘mend’ side of the PALM acronym.

Marc co-leads Ofwat’s flagship £600m Innovation Fund, and oversees the delivery of the Water Breakthrough Challenge and Water Discovery Challenge competitions alongside stakeholder relationships and the strategic direction of the fund. He has led on the Ofwat Innovation Fund since its inception in 2019. Marc has worked in regulation for 15 years, first with the Gambling Commission and with Ofwat since 2014.

Jason brings over three decades of invaluable experience to his recently appointed role as Head of Innovation for the Pennon Group’s drinking water operations. Having spent his entire career with South West Water in diverse operational roles, from heading up leakage control to technical support engineering, Jason has a holistic understanding of the industry’s
challenges and opportunities. He has majored for the past decade at improving the ‘mend’ in PALM, including the development of some novel repair technologies. He has been a member of the Institute of Water for many years, including a period on the South West committee, and has an MSc in pipeline engineering.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the water industry, Jeremy is responsible for the management of innovation within the Pennon clean water businesses. He has a keen interest in innovations that will transform how we manage our water networks, in particular smart metering, smart networks, artificial intelligence and IoT communications. In addition to his role at Pennon, Jeremy is also the lead for the UKWIR national zero leakage project and is responsible for driving the UK leakage research programme.

Raj has used his electrical engineering training to provide unique technical insights to his work in business development and new product market introduction. Prior to joining FiberSense, he accumulated more than 20 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry and held senior roles with Australian carriers Optus, PowerTel, Nextgen and Vocus. With 10 years’ experience in the submarine cable industry with operators such as Australia Singapore Cable and Hawaiki, Raj has commercial and operational insights and knowledge about the opportunities and issues that face the industry. In his current role at FiberSense, Raj is helping bring ground-breaking sensing, insights and protection to critical infrastructure such as submarine cables, telecoms and utility infrastructure (eg, water) by using the fibre in the street as the detection mechanism.

Randal has more than 15 years’ experience in the water industry, having begun his career at Thames Water in wastewater treatment and leakage management. In 2015, he joined Crowder Consulting, where as a project manager he has led numerous leakage management projects for Thames Water, Irish Water and Maynilad (Manila Water). More recently, he has focused on leakage reduction initiatives for Thames Water and Northumbrian Water. These projects combine the latest leakage detection technologies and analytical techniques with proven methods to efficiently locate significant leaks in challenging areas of the water network.

Kat uses her extensive industry expertise to drive the development, commercialisation and application of Rawwater’s pioneering technologies across diverse industrial sectors, including electricity transmission and distribution, and nuclear. These leak-sealing innovations include M3Spray and M3CollarCast, which offer low-temperature, reversible sealing of leaks and defects, and promote safer work environments and sustainable practices. Before setting up Rawwater with her business partner, Kat served as Account Director at the UK National Nuclear Laboratory, collaborating globally on waste management and decommissioning initiatives. Her background spans international account management, business transformation and technical disciplines – equipping her with the insight to identify market opportunities, understand technical aspects of customer challenges and navigate complex regulatory landscapes.

John is responsible for the strategic sustainable growth of Origin Technology, a clean tech SME he co-founded in 2019. He is an experienced business leader with a history of growing businesses, commercialising innovative products and building long-term client relationships. His business is focused on finding leaks (using satellites) and fixing them (without digging).

Glen joined WRc in 2020 and is part of the executive team. He has specialised in leakage and water resources planning for more than 23 years, having previously worked for Jacobs and South Staffs Water. Glen was involved in business planning and water resources planning between PR09 and PR24, and has also undertaken technical assurance for water companies during his career. He continues to support UK water companies and has also been involved in the delivery of a number of international projects.