Part 8 of the Market Code establishes the governance arrangements for the Market and the CMA. 

The governance arrangements include the role of the CMA Board, its membership, the arrangements for meetings of the Board, and the mechanism for the Board taking decisions.

The Board takes a strategic and risk-based view to ensure that the CMA fulfils its duties under the Market Code in accordance with sound business practice.  It includes a chairman, chief executive, two independent non-executive directors, two Licensed Provider-nominated directors, and a Scottish Water-nominated director.  The Board meets every two months and makes decisions based on a simple majority of directors.

Board Members

David Sigsworth (Chairman)

With an engineering background, David was an executive director on the main board of Scottish & Southern Energy plc until he retired from the company in 2006. Subsequently he was Chair of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for eight years.  He has wide experience of utility and environmental regulation, of energy trading and customer service as well as being responsible for the development and delivery of large engineering projects. David chaired the property development company Sigma Capital Group plc for twelve years and stepped down from the Board in August 2021.  He maintains an involvement with high tech start up companies and holds several non-executive positions. He also retains strong academic links and holds an honorary Professorship from the University of Dundee.

Jeremy Atkinson (Chief Executive)

Jeremy is an economist by profession, with a specialisation in industrial and regulatory economics and over twenty years of practical experience.  As an economic consultant, he advised utilities, regulators and government departments internationally on tariffs, investment planning and industry restructuring.  He was Director of Licensing at the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, working on the design of the Water Market in Scotland.  In 2007 he set up the Central Market Agency and took the business from a start-up to a mature organisation capable of providing reliable and efficient administrative services to Licensed Providers and Scottish Water.

Fred Hallsworth (Non-Executive Director)

Fred is a Bachelor of Accountancy graduate of the University of Glasgow, and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. He has a broad range of skills from Corporate Governance to Corporate Finance and general Business Advice, gained through a 30-year career in Professional Services. He has held a number of senior management positions in Cambridge and Scotland, including Managing Partner, and Head of Corporate Finance of Arthur Andersen, and Senior Client Service Partner and Head of Technology for Deloitte. In the last 10 years he has sat on 14 Boards as an Independent Non-Executive Director. His roles have included Senior Independent Director and Audit Committee Chairman of UK and NASDAQ public companies, and private venture backed companies. 

Janet Brown (Non-Executive Director)

Janet holds a BSc in Physics and a PhD in Physical Metallurgy & Materials Science, both awarded by the University of Birmingham. She is an experienced Non-Executive Director and has worked in both the public and private sectors in the UK and Internationally. Janet has a strong background in science research & technology as well as business management acquired in her previous positions with Motorola and AT&T Bell Laboratories. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Fellow of the Institute of Physics From 2007 to 2019, Janet was Chief Executive of the SQA.

Ian Grundy (LP Nominated Director)

Ian is a Bachelor of Arts graduate from the University of Central Lancashire and enjoys a creative, forward-thinking approach to business. He has a range of skills having previously worked in the banking sector, specialising in compliance, audit & risk, before moving into utilities. After several years in the industry, he formed the independent retailer Pure Utilities in 2015 with the focus on ethical, sustainable growth. Ian is a regular attendee of technical industry meetings and sits on several industry working groups. He remains passionate about ensuring the industry works well for customers

Jo Dow (LP Nominated Director)

Jo joined Scottish Water’s Finance Team in 2002 before being seconded as one of a team of three people to help create the world’s first licenced water retailer – Business Stream. She became Finance Director of the new company in 2006 and was appointed Chief Executive in October 2014. In her capacity as CEO, Jo has played a key role in helping to transform Business Stream from a public sector monopoly into a commercial, dynamic, award-winning retail business with a real passion for making a positive difference to its people, customers, the environment and the local communities it operates within.

Jo’s focus in recent years has been on delivering the company’s ambitious growth strategy to help cement the retailer as one of the leading players in the UK water market. This has included supporting the business to secure around £280 million worth of new customer contracts since the English market opened in 2017, and undertaking two major acquisitions that have helped position Business Stream as the second largest water retailer in the UK.

Jo is also a member of the BITC Scotland Advisory Board which is a business-led membership organisation dedicated to responsible business, which aims to inspire members to build thriving communities in which they live and work and to make a positive different to the environment.

Richard Lavery (SW Nominated Director)

After studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, Richard worked a variety of retail and wholesale roles in the energy and telecoms markets before joining Scottish Water in 2006 to support preparations for Market opening. Since then, he has managed many aspects of Scottish Water’s wholesale service and has worked closely with other participants on the continuing evolution of the Market. He is now General Manager – Revenue & Wholesale Services with overall responsibility for Scottish Water’s service to the Market.

Special Advisors to the Board

Brian Wilson 

Formerly a Member of Parliament, Brian held several ministerial posts during his political career including those of Energy Minister and Trade Minister.  He is an experienced journalist and writer and continues to publicly comment on UK government energy policy.  Brian is a director of several private companies including Harris Tweed Hebrides Ltd and holds directorships in several energy related businesses. In 2011, he was named UK Global Director of the year by the Institute of Directors.