Published 8/08/2024
Wellington Water Chief Executive steps down
Wellington Water Board Chair, Nick Leggett, has announced that Wellington Water Chief Executive Tonia is stepping down from her role.
Nick thanked Tonia for her hard work and leadership over the past five and a half years with Wellington Water.
Nick said Tonia had a track record of delivery in her various leadership roles at Wellington Water.
“In her time at Wellington Water, the capital programme delivering water assets for the region had grown from $60m to $330m in the last financial year.”
Nick said many Wellingtonians had also admired Tonia’s willingness to front difficult issues in the media and be up front in discussing both challenges and solutions.
“Working for Wellington Water has been a privilege.” said Tonia. “The team at Wellington Water, its supplier whānau and partners are incredibly smart, hard-working and dedicated to improving water outcomes for the region. I am proud to have been part of that.”
Tonia joined Wellington Water as its Group Manager Network Development and Delivery in 2019. She has been in the Chief Executive role since early 2023.
“During my time as Chief Executive we have delivered major projects such as the Omāroro Reservoir and the Kaitoke Flume bridge and delivered a record level of pipe renewals. We have also lifted the operating performance of the organisation and navigated a long dry summer, reduced the backlog of leaks and are finally seeing a reduction in water usage and loss for the first time in five years.”
“With our operational performance now in good shape, now is a good time for me to move on, with the entity facing a different strategic future,” Tonia said.
From this Friday 9 August, Tonia will step down from the Chief Executive role.
The Board will begin a process over the coming weeks to appoint a new Chief Executive for Wellington Water.
Editor notes
Wellington Water is owned and fully funded by Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council, and Upper Hutt City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and South Wairarapa District Council. All six councils are equal shareholders.
Our councils own the water infrastructure in the region, and they task us to manage the infrastructure and deliver water services to our communities.
Wellington Water is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board and our organisation receive overall leadership and direction from the Wellington Water Committee, which are also responsible for appointing members to the Board.
The Wellington Water Committee is made up of representatives from our council owners and mana whenua.