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About us / Governance / The Leadership Team

The Leadership Team

Chief Executive

Tonia Haskell 

Tonia is the Chief Executive of Wellington Water and is responsible for the company’s overall leadership, management, performance, and service delivery. Tonia is also responsible for progress towards the company’s strategic goals, which are set with the Senior Leadership Team, the Board of Directors and the Water Committee made up of our client councils.

Prior to taking up the role as Chief Executive, Tonia headed up the Network Development and Delivery Group at Wellington Water, which is a role she has held for the last five years.

Tonia has extensive knowledge of the company and is an experienced senior executive in a number of infrastructure industries. Prior to joining Wellington Water, she worked at NZ Bus where she was the Chief Operations Officer for the Wellington region.

Tonia lives in Hataitai with her family.  She’s passionate about Wellington and the region and has always been a strong advocate for the people that work hard building, maintaining and operating the networks that keep our region humming.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Victoria)

Tonia Haskell

Group Manager Network Development & Delivery

Susannah Cullen

Susannah is responsible for the engineering investigation, design, and capital development delivery for three waters infrastructure solutions for our council owners. 

Susannah is an experienced leader with extensive programme management experience in the water sector. Susannah brings a deep understanding of the organisation to the role as she was previously the Head of Programme Practice at Wellington Water.

Prior to joining Wellington Water, Susannah worked as a Programme Manager at Stantec in the UK where she worked with clients such as Scottish Water and Thames Water. Susannah has also worked as a water engineer and project manager in the water sector in Australia

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor of Engineering, Civil (University of Auckland)
  • Post Graduate Certificate in Integrated Water Management (Griffith University)
  • Chartered Professional Engineer (Engineers Australia)
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Chief Financial Officer and General Manager Business Services

Mark Ford

Mark is responsible for the provision of strategic financial and procurement advice, support and services for Wellington Water. He is an experienced finance and operational management professional with over 20 years experience as a senior manager within the Media/Publishing, Financial Services, Transport and Government sectors.

Prior to joining Wellington Water in December 2018, he worked for Greater Wellington Regional Council as Finance Manager.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Accounting and Management 
  • Post Graduate Diploma, Management 
  • Member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
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Group Manager Customer Operations

Kevin Locke

Kevin is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the three waters network and ensures the service delivery meets the needs of our client councils and stakeholders. His team is the first point of contact in responding to client and customer requests. Kevin’s group is unique in the fact that it is formed via an alliance partnership between Wellington Water and Fulton Hogan.


Kevin has over 25 years' experience in infrastructure in a broad range of roles for both public and private sector organisations. Prior to this role, Kevin was General Manager of Strategy & Growth at Fulton Hogan, and previously, General Manager Capital Programme at Christchurch City Council.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Engineering, Civil (Canterbury)
  • Member, Engineering New Zealand
  • Member, New Zealand Institute of Directors
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Group Manager Network Management Group

Jeremy McKibbin

Jeremy is responsible for the operation and maintenance of treatment facilities for water and wastewater. He ensures that control systems and processes are in place so our water networks are reliable and that they meet our stringent quality requirements, and ensures we are focused on technological innovation by investigating and delivering new smart services.

Jeremy has over 20 years' experience in the water industry mainly with control systems and water treatment. Prior to joining Wellington Water in September 2014, Jeremy worked for the Greater Wellington Regional Council as the leader of the water treatment operations and control systems teams. Jeremy has recently completed his Master of Business Administration. 

Qualifications

  • Master of Business Administration 
  • Advanced Diploma in Industrial Automation
  • Diploma in Water Treatment
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Group Manager Network Strategy & Planning

Julie Alexander

Julie is responsible for the development and implementation of the regional three waters strategy, policy and investment advice, and ensures that asset management planning meets the needs of client councils. She also oversees consenting under the Resource Management Act, and the development and implementation of information and knowledge management strategies and systems to ensure that company and three waters data informs decision making and improves performance outcomes.

Julie is a senior leader with experience across several central government sectors including public policy, transport infrastructure investment and planning, public transport and customer relationships. Julie has also worked within the local government sector in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Environmental Sciences (Hons) (University of East Anglia, UK)
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