Lawrence Gosden joined Southern Water in May 2020 and was appointed to the Board on 1 July 2022 when he became CEO.
Lawrence has worked in the water sector for over 30 years. He has a record of successful operational and capital programme delivery and has delivered major infrastructure programmes, asset management, customer service and operational transformation alongside the provision of impactful and inclusive strategic leadership.
Since his return, Lawrence has driven Southern Water to introduce integrated strategic business planning and embrace innovation. He’s instigated programmes to integrate and optimise our asset management, digitise operations and adopt proactive analysis to prevent failure. He is passionate about health and safety, inspiring cultural transformation, and generating nature-based and sustainable solutions to many of our challenges.
Prior to his return to Southern Water, Lawrence spent 12 years at Thames Water in a variety of senior executive and leadership positions. He was Managing Director for Wastewater and subsequently Chief Operating Officer, with accountability to keep 4,000 colleagues and contractors safe, while quantifiably improving their environmental performance, reduce leakage and increase wastewater customer service.
Lawrence gained a first-class honours degree in Engineering before starting his career as a graduate at Southern Water.
“Being a responsible and sustainable business is our priority. We can only deliver our vision with the support of our people and communities so understanding and supporting them sits at the heart of our long-term strategy. We have ambitious goals, which we plan to reach working hand-in-hand with our partners in the community. We’re constantly talking to our customers and stakeholders, sharing information that supports their priorities and our purpose to enhance health and wellbeing, protect and improve the environment and sustain our economy.” – Lawrence Gosden.