The Power of Partnerships: Driving Social Value in the Water Sector
Show contributors: Heidi Mottram, Kate Kenny, Arthur Jones
How can water companies deliver the best value for customers by turning sector challenges into opportunities for people and places?
Like most markets and industries globally, the water sector is facing greater and more complex challenges due to climate change, population growth, rising costs and a shortage of incoming talent.
In this episode, we unpack innovation, core values and close collaboration between Jacobs and Northumbrian Water, which supplies 2.7 million people with water and wastewater services in North East England, and 1.8 million people with water only in Essex and Suffolk.
The inspiring leaders and guests on this podcast are Northumbrian Water Group CEO Heidi Mottram, CBE, and Jacobs Senior Vice President and General Manager for Buildings & Infrastructure Europe Kate Kenny.
Tune in to find out
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How work culture and shared values drive collaboration
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The role of purpose and leadership in driving performance
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How to tackle the complex decarbonization challenges in the sector
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How inclusivity and diversity are fundamental for resiliency
About our guests
![Kate Kenny Profile](https://www.jacobs.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_text_component/public/2024-06/Eolas%20Cover%20-Jacobs%20-%20Kate%20Kenny%20-%2028-2-24-4_C.jpg?itok=2j8H7Yyl)
When she’s not chasing her two young boys around, you’ll find Kate Kenny making an impact, whether it’s mentoring and helping to develop others, or in her diverse role here at Jacobs.
In her role as Buildings & Infrastructure Senior Vice President and General Manager, Kate and her team bring together knowledge and innovation from across the Jacobs organization to challenge the way we solve problems and shape the next generation of solutions for our clients in a variety of markets. Solutions that are better for the environment, better for people and better for the economy.
Image: Noel Hillis, eolas Magazine
![Heidi Mottram](https://www.jacobs.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_text_component/public/2024-06/HeidiMottram_1.jpg?itok=LW83LlUM)
Heidi Mottram has been the Chief Executive Officer of Northumbrian Water Group Limited and Northumbrian Water Limited since 2010.
Heidi Mottram’s success at Northumbrian Water Group follows on from an excellent track record in the rail industry where her career began with British Rail in the mid-1980s. She progressed through a variety of senior leadership roles in British Rail and, following privatization, in Great North Eastern Railway, Midland Mainline, Arriva Trains Northern and Managing Director of Northern Rail, the largest train operator in the U.K.
She was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List 2010 for services to the rail industry and a CBE in the Birthday Honours List 2018 for services to the water industry and business community. She is currently a Board Member of Centrica and WaterAid.
Under her leadership, NWG achieved the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the category of Sustainable Development in 2014 and is the only water company to have been listed on the World’s Most Ethical Companies list ten times.
Northumbrian Water has twice been named the UK’s Utility Company of the Year under Heidi’s leadership. The Company was also named as Water Company of the Year in 2018 and 2020 and awarded the British Quality Foundation’s U.K. Excellence Award 2018, one of the highest accolades any business can achieve.
About If/When
![I/When a Jacobs podcast](https://www.jacobs.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_text_component/public/2024-04/If_When_MAIN_blu_932x495.png?itok=6Et0h8wd)
In Jacobs’ series of interviews with some of the industry’s leading subject matter experts, inspirational leaders and trailblazers, we pull back the curtain on some of the hottest topics and trends across critical infrastructure, climate resiliency, water, advanced manufacturing, energy transition, sustainability, technology and artificial intelligence. We unpack the innovation, core values and close collaboration between Jacobs and its relationships with clients, partners and the communities in which it serves. We explore how we’re building social value across all that we do to create digitally enabled, science-based and sustainable solutions that drive climate response and human wellness.