Craig Bennett – Chair of the Independent Challenge Group

Craig Bennett is the Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trusts and has been described as “one of the country’s top environmental campaigners”. He was formerly CEO of Friends of the Earth, where he refocussed the organisation to empower communities to take action on the climate and ecological crises.

From 2007 to 2010, Craig was Deputy Director at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and was also Director of The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change (CLG).  

Alongside 20 years’ experience of designing and contributing to executive education and leadership programmes at numerous universities and business schools around the world, Craig has a long history of providing advice and constructive challenge direct to CEOs and company boards. As well as chairing Anglian Water’s Independent Challenge Group, Craig is also a member of the Innovation Lab for Marks and Spencer plc. He was previously a member of the Net Positive Board for Kingfisher plc. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM). 

Jo Lancaster - Independent Challenge Group member

Joanne Lancaster has spent over 30 years working in the public sector across the Midlands and East of England, retiring after serving as Managing Director at Huntingdonshire District Council for ten years, from 2013 to 2023. She began her career in local government as a town planner and has worked extensively on many types of development. Latterly, her career focused on strategy and partnerships, working across sectors to ensure that people and places thrive.  Joanne is a strong supporter of good quality, efficient public services and has always been the voice of the customer and resident. She is now dedicating time to developing a portfolio of non executive roles in the charity, education and health sectors and brings her experience and customer focus to support the work of the Independent Challenge Group.

Dr Nathan Richardson

Nathan Richardson has more than 30 years’ experience in the water sector in research, consultancy, industry and policy roles. Most of this has been in the Anglian region where he lives with his family. His career has focussed on developing solutions to water scarcity, pollution and flood risk pressures. 

Nathan is a past chair of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) East Anglian branch, representing more than 2,000 water management professionals in the region. He also sits on the Blueprint for Water NGO coalition which brings together 16 environmental organisations, representing more than 6 million members, with an interest in water matters. 

John Vinson, Head of Company Engagement, CCW

John Vinson is an experienced director and commercial strategist with 25 years’ experience of working within regulated and non-regulated industries, both in the UK and abroad. Before joining CCW, he was Commercial Director at Vortex IoT. Previously, he ran his own consultancy advising start-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the innovation sector.

John has worked in all sectors of the water industry including wholesale, retail, New Appointments and Variations (small, regulated water companies), private water service businesses, consumer advocacy and private consultancy. He has also served on the water retail market Interim Code Panel and Code Panel, as well as several sub committees and groups. 

John is a director, trustee and holds an MA in Business and the Financial Times Non-Executive Director Diploma. He is also a mentor for the SetSquared Partnership – an enterprise collaboration between six leading research-intensive universities, and for the Institute of Water mentoring scheme.