Our team

David was, until 31 March 2011, the Finance Director of Viridor, having previously been Financial Controller of the Pennon Group Plc. He joined the Pennon Group in 1991 as Group Auditor. Prior to that he worked for KPMG, where he was Senior Manager of the Exeter office. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and is a graduate in Business Studies. He was also a non executive director of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust from 2010 to 2017.

Malcolm became Chief Executive at Visit Cornwall in January 2010. His previous appointment was as Chief Executive of South West Tourism. Prior to this he was Director of Economic Development for Devon & Cornwall. He is the Chairman and a non executive director of South West Lakes Limited and other appointments include membership of the Forestry Commission’s Regional Advisory Board and a Trustee of the Charity that oversees the Fifteen Cornwall Restaurant that helps disadvantaged youths to train to be chefs.

Monica was, until recently, Business Services & Sustainability Director of South West Water Limited. She joined South West Water in 1992 and was responsible for Business Development, HR and Employee Development. Prior to South West Water, Monica worked for Touche Ross & Co. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and is a graduate in Environmental Science. Monica is a non-executive director of the Trust’s trading company, South West Lakes Limited.

John chairs the boards of the Devon County Agricultural Association, Westpoint Centre Devon Ltd, Mole Avon Trading Ltd and the Rural Youth Trust. He is President of Devon Communities Together and Mid Devon Show and Patron of Devon and Cornwall Police Cadets and Local Heroes. He is a member of Exeter Cathedral Council and regularly chairs the Independent Agricultural Appeals Panel on behalf of the Minister. He is a past High Sheriff of Devon, Chair of Governors of Bicton College, Chairman of Farming & Countryside Education and an EU CAP advisor. John currently serves as our Vice-Chairman.

DINAH NICHOLS, CB – is a Governor of Plymouth University and a Trustee of the Land Trust. She was previously a non-executive director of Pennon Plc, a Commissioner of The Crown Estate, Chair of the National Forest Company and Director General (Environment) at DEFRA. She recently stepped down as Chair of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.

Ed was appointed in 2017 as Director of Environment for Pennon. Prior to this he was Executive Director at the Environment Agency, responsible for their approach to water quality, water resources, industry regulation, land management, climate change adaptation and sustainable development.

Ed is a Non-Executive Director of Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, a not-for-profit company he helped set up which provides water, sanitation and hygiene services to people living in slums in the developing world.  He is also Deputy Chair of South West Water and Bournemouth Water’s Customer Challenge Group, the WaterFuture Customer Panel and Chair of South West Water’s Conservation and Recreation Forum. He chairs the Canal and River Trust Environmental Advisory Group and is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the Vale Academy Trust, a group of primary and secondary schools in Oxfordshire.

Chris is Emeritus Professor of Planning at Plymouth University and a member of the Supervisory Board of Ecorys b.v., a European research and policy consultancy. Until 2017 he was also Non-Executive Chairman of Hilson Moran, Consulting Engineers. A Chartered Town Planner and Surveyor, he spent much of his career in private practice becoming Managing Director of DTZ UK & Ireland. He was Chair of Basildon Renaissance Partnership and a member of the Council of Essex University. He is currently Chair of the Royal Town Planning Institute in the South West and has been Chair of the Burrator Advisory Group for the last five years.

Dan James

Jo Traill Thomson

Jo is currently working on natural capital and local delivery for Natural England with responsibility for the Defra North Devon Landscape Pioneer. Previously she has worked as an Environmental Economics Adviser in Southern Africa with IUCN and the Department for International Development. Since 2001 she has worked in the South West on externally funded projects, protected landscapes and with Cornwall Council as a Strategy Manager.

Ashley is an independent, non-executive director of South West Lakes Limited. He is the General Manager of the UK Platform within Imerys Minerals Ltd. the china clay company based in St Austell. Originally from Launceston, his career started with English China Clays (ECC) where he gained his professional qualification in accountancy. Through various roles, he has travelled abroad extensively with the company and now has responsibility for a business supplying UK products globally. He has also served on the SW Council of the CBI for many years, as well as previously being a Governor of various schools in the St Austell area.

Stuart is an independent, non-executive director of South West Lakes Limited.

A life-long fly fisherman and keen sailor, Stuart spent most of his career in international leadership roles with automotive manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Toyota before moving to the South West.

As Managing Director of the European Lexus business and then Member of the Board for Sales & Marketing at Bentley, he has considerable experience of building businesses through brand reputation and developing quality products and services. He has a particular interest in building a customer service culture within organisations and has frequently been asked to speak on the subject at home and overseas.

He has been a Vice President of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders representing the industry in negotiations with the UK government and the EU.