Yorkshire Water boss resigns after firm downgraded

Published30 October 2026, 07:54 GMT

Yorkshire Water's chief executive has announced she is to step down, just 24 hours after the company was given the lowest possible environmental rating by the Environment Agency.

Nicola Shaw, who has led the firm since 2022, will leave the role on 1 January to be replaced by Nicola Medalova, a chartered environmental health officer who previously worked for the National Grid.

In a statement on Friday, Shaw said it had been a "privilege" to lead the company but that it was the "right time" to leave her post.

Shaw has faced criticism in recent years, including for taking £1.9m in undisclosed payments between 2023 and 2026, while the company has come under scrutiny for its performance.

The payments were made by Yorkshire Water's parent company, Kelda Holdings, for what the firm said was "investor engagement" and "financial oversight".

On Thursday, the Environment Agency gave the firm one star out of four - its lowest possible rating - meaning Yorkshire Water was classed as a "poorly performing company".

The EA said Yorkshire Water was responsible for 260 pollution incidents in 2025, which was its highest total since 2011.

In 2024, Ofwat announced it was fining the company £47m for historic sewage leaks.

'Extremely proud'

In her statement, Shaw said: "It has been a privilege to lead Yorkshire Water and serve the people of Yorkshire.

"Although there remains a huge amount of work to do, I am extremely proud of what our colleagues have achieved, putting the business on a stronger footing for delivery across all aspects of its work."

Yorkshire Water said Medalova, who is a former non-executive director of the company's board, would join the firm on Monday as part of a transition period before assuming the chief executive officer role full time in the new year.

She said: "I am delighted to be joining Yorkshire Water and grateful to the board for the opportunity to lead the business through its next chapter.

"Yorkshire Water faces huge challenges but also great opportunities for continued improvement and I look forward to working with Nicola Shaw, the leadership team and colleagues across the business as I get up to speed."

In December last year Shaw said "not being transparent" about receiving £1.3m in shareholder-funded payments across two instalments had been a "mistake", but had insisted those amounts were "not for me to decide".

She received a further £660,000 earlier this year. Ofwat said the payments were not performance-related.

The previously undisclosed payments had come to light the previous August when the government banned Yorkshire Water and five other water companies from paying "unfair" bonuses to bosses.

Reaction from MPs and campaigners

Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said Shaw should have stepped down "much earlier".

"Good riddance. Nicola Shaw oversaw abysmal management of our precious natural resources, trashing our rivers while receiving an eye-watering salary," he said.

"Her replacement needs to understand that residents are at their wits' end, paying ever-rising bills for polluted rivers and threats of hosepipe bans while someone at the top rakes in millions."

Meanwhile, Judith Cummins, Labour MP for Bradford South, said Yorkshire Water needed "more than a change of leadership" but a "complete change of direction".

"A new face at the top cannot wash away years of Yorkshire Water failing to put customers first," she said.

"Nicola Shaw's time as Yorkshire Water boss saw customers frustrated by poor service, skyrocketing bills, record pollution incidents, and a plummet from 'good' to the worst possible one-star environment rating.

"There must be a wholesale shift in culture that finally prioritises customers. Only then can the company begin to restore public trust."

Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley and Ilkley, said Shaw's resignation "could not have come quick enough".

He added: "I have therefore already requested an urgent meeting with the new CEO Designate Nicola Medalova to understand how she plans to improve Yorkshire Water's performance at speed.

"The status quo cannot continue."

Chris Stewart at York campaign group Ouse It Lose It said the new CEO's priority had to be looking at "failures in the system".

"There's been a continual decline in the operation of this business," he said.

"Clearly things are going wrong."

Stewart said he was not surprised by Shaw's resignation but it was a "shocking indictment of the way the company has been performing, while making loud noises about how much they're putting into improving".

Naomi Tilley, campaigns manager at protest group Surfers Against Sewage, said "systematic change" was needed to fix the company.

"Regardless of who the CEO is, there's sewage entering the sea and the water companies are failing. Yorkshire Water is not an outlier," said Tilley.

"The whole system and every water company is failing in different ways and we are seeing that the system is broken and we need fundamental change.

"While these companies are set up for a profit, we're never going to see pollution curbed and stopped."

Additional reporting by David Rhodes and Grace Wood

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