The new chief takes over as utility now carries a one-star environmental rating, after announcing head office move to Leeds next year.
Nicola Shaw is to step down as Yorkshire Water chief executive after four and a half years, the company announced on 30 October 2026. The news came a day after the Environment Agency gave the utility its lowest possible environmental rating of one star. Nicola Medalova joins as CEO designate on 2 November and will take over on 1 January 2027, with Nicola Shaw staying on to lead a structured handover. Yorkshire Water announced the relocation of its head office from Buttershaw in Bradford to Leeds Valley Park in south Leeds in September.
Why This Matters For Leeds
Yorkshire Water’s leadership change now plays out in a Leeds boardroom; her background in major capital programmes could open more water infrastructure work for Leeds engineering and construction firms.
Nicola Medalova named next Yorkshire Water chief executive
Nicola Medalova spent her executive career at National Grid, most recently as chief of staff to the group chief executive. Before that she was chief operating officer of National Grid New England, running a 4,000-person business across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Quebec. She already knows the company from a spell as a non-executive director on its board and began her career in environmental protection regulation with Moray Council.
Jon Lewis, chair of Yorkshire Water, credited the outgoing chief with securing new investment. “Under her leadership, the company secured £500m of new shareholder equity, with a further £600m committed, enabling us to embark on the largest investment programme in our history and accelerate work to strengthen the resilience of Yorkshire’s water network,” he said.
Nicola Shaw said: “This now feels like the right time to begin an orderly transition to the company’s next chapter.” Yorkshire Water did not refer to the environmental rating in its announcement.
Nicola Medalova said her immediate priority would be “to listen and learn, while maintaining a relentless focus on delivery”.
“Yorkshire Water will ultimately be judged by what it delivers for customers, communities and the environment”
Nicola Medalova, CEO Designate, Yorkshire Water
The one-star rating and the West Leeds schemes
The Environment Agency published its Environmental Performance Assessment for 2025 on 29 October. Yorkshire Water fell from two stars to one, one of four water and sewerage companies rated poor alongside Southern Water, South West Water and Thames Water. Across England’s nine companies, the sector earned 16 stars out of a possible 36.
In a response the same day, Stephanie Pullan, director of asset management at Yorkshire Water, said the result was largely driven by 13 serious pollution incidents in 2025 and by five environmental schemes in West Leeds that were not delivered on time. Of the five West Leeds schemes, one is now complete and four are under construction or in planning, with all due by 2028.
The rating and the change at the top come as the company works through an £8.3bn investment programme for 2025 to 2030. Its ownership has also shifted this year: Swedish private equity firm EQT took a 42% stake in parent company Kelda in March. The next Yorkshire Water chief executive takes charge of that programme from the company’s new Leeds base.
- Learn more about Yorkshire Water: yorkshirewater.com
Sources: Yorkshire Water announcement, CEO succession, 30 October 2026; Environment Agency, Water and sewerage companies in England: environmental performance report 2025, 29 October 2026; Environment Agency, Regulators publish first joint report on water industry performance, 29 October 2026;
