Niki is the President of CIWEM (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) and a Director and Co-Founder of AxiaOrigin.

She is convinced that by connecting the right people and thinking at a systems-level, anything is possible. This belief is reflected in her Presidential theme – “Everything is Connected”. She has spent her career trying to do just that. Over her 20 years working in and around the UK water sector Niki has delivered operational and strategic change, often through enabling others to perform at their best. A passionate environmentalist at heart, Niki spends her time thinking about how we can drive real change to improve global resilience and has particular interests in water efficiency, bioresources and the circular economy.

Niki was invited to the panel due to her technical and innovation expertise and her experience of the water sector.

Niki on the most exciting opportunities and key challenges for the Water Sector in England and Wales right now…

“There’s a huge opportunity for the water sector to be able to deliver increased value to the public at a time when we are probably all more aware of the importance of water and wastewater services and our environment. The challenge is being able to do this whilst maintaining affordability for customers and being in the middle of a climate and ecological emergency. The role of the water sector is so much broader than we might first think; the innovation fund creates the possibility to combine new voices with the wealth of experience we already have to tackle some of the biggest challenges our society faces.”