Board directors’ biographies

1. Sir Derek Wanless Chairman

Sir Derek Wanless was appointed to the Board as an independent non-executive director in December 2003. He was appointed to the board of NWL in January 2006, and, in July 2006, became Chairman of NWG and NWL. Sir Derek chairs the Nomination Committee and is a member of the Remuneration Committee. He became a director of National Westminster Bank in 1991 and its Group Chief Executive in 1992. He retired from this position in 1999. Sir Derek is currently Chairman of Legal and General plc’s Longevity Science Advisory Panel and a member of the Board for Actuarial Standards at the Financial Reporting Council.

2. John Cuthbert Managing Director

John Cuthbert was appointed to the Board in May 2003. John joined the water industry in 1991 and was appointed Managing Director of North East Water plc in 1993. Following the acquisition of the former Northumbrian Water Group plc by Lyonnaise des Eaux in 1995, he transferred within the Group to become Managing Director of Essex and Suffolk Water plc. John took over as Managing Director of the former Northumbrian Water Group plc, and also of NWL, in 2001 and is a member of the Nomination Committee. John is Chairman of Castle View Enterprise Academy, in Sunderland, of which NWL is lead sponsor. John will retire on 31 March 2010 and the Nomination Committee has initiated a process to seek a successor, which is described in the corporate governance report.

3. Chris Green Finance Director

Chris Green was appointed to the Board in May 2003. Chris joined the former Northumbrian Water Group plc in January 1990 and was initially involved in its diversified business activities before being appointed as Group Finance Director in 1997. Chris was appointed as Finance Director of NWL in April 2000 following the merger of that company with Essex and Suffolk Water plc.

4. Sir Patrick Brown Senior Independent Non-executive Director

Sir Patrick Brown was appointed to the Board in May 2003 and to the board of NWL in January 2006. Sir Patrick chairs the Audit Committee and is a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committees. He held various positions in the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, becoming Second Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive of the Property Services Agency in 1990. He was Permanent Secretary for the Department of Transport from 1991 to 1997. Sir Patrick became a non-executive director of the Go-Ahead Group plc in 1999 and its Chairman in 2002.

5. Claude Lamoureux Non-executive Director

Claude Lamoureux was appointed to the boards of NWG and NWL on 1 December 2006. Claude was, until 1 December 2007, President and CEO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP). Previously, he spent 25 years as a financial executive with Metropolitan Life in Canada and the US. He is Chairman of Cordiant Capital and is also a director of Xstrata plc, The Foundation for Investor Rights, Glass Lewis, Maple Leaf Foods Inc, Atrium Innovations Inc, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, The Learning Partnership and the York University Foundation. OTPP holds 27% of the issued share capital of Northumbrian Water Group plc and Claude is, therefore, not regarded as an independent director.

6. Martin Nègre Independent Non-executive Director

Martin Nègre was appointed to the Board in May 2003 and to the board of NWL in January 2006. Martin chairs the Remuneration Committee and is a member of the Nomination Committee. He was, between April 2000 and April 2001, the CEO of the former Northumbrian Water Group plc and the chief corporate representative of its parent company, Suez, in the UK. He is currently the Chairman of Ecofin Global Utilities Hedge Fund Limited, an Irish Stock Exchange listed fund, Chairman of Ecofin Special Situations Utilities Fund and of Ecofin North American Hedge Fund, a director of Ecofin Water & Power Opportunities plc, a London listed investment trust of which he was Chairman for three years, as well as a director of Bolux Utilities (Sicav Luxembourg), Mercurius Utilities (Liechtenstein), EFMI Global Utilities and Infrastructure Funds plc and EFMI UBAM Global Utilities 130/130 Fund. All the above funds are focused on utilities. In 2005, he was appointed a director of Promethean plc, an AIM-listed investment company.

7. Alex Scott-Barrett Independent Non-executive Director

Alex Scott-Barrett was appointed to the Board of NWG in September 2006, having previously joined the board of NWL in November 2005 and is a member of the Audit, Nomination and Remuneration Committees. Alex qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand in 1981 and joined Cazenove, a city corporate stockbroker, in 1982. He worked initially as an analyst and transferred to the corporate finance department in 1986, becoming a partner of the firm in 1988. In 1996 he became a director of the firm’s fund management division and from 2000 to 2003 was the Chief Operating Officer of that division. Alex left Cazenove in 2003. He is a non-executive director of General Capital Group plc and Lighthouse Group plc and is a Trustee of L’Arche and Help for Heroes.

8. Jenny Williams Independent Non-executive Director

Jenny Williams joined the Board in May 2004, and the board of NWL in January 2006, and is a member of the Audit and Nomination Committees. She is a Commissioner and Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission and a Trustee of the charity, Connections at St Martins. In addition to being Head of Water Finance and Flotation at the time of water privatisation, Jenny has held a variety of directorships in a range of Government departments, including the Home Office, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Inland Revenue. She was previously a Director-General of the Lord Chancellor’s Department (now the Department for Justice).

9. Martin Parker General Counsel and Company Secretary

Martin Parker was appointed as Company Secretary of NWG in May 2003. Martin joined the former Northumbrian Water Group plc in 1990, concentrating on acquisitions, overseas projects and contracts with industrial customers, before being appointed Head of Group Legal Services in 1998 and General Counsel and Company Secretary of NWG in 2000. Martin is Secretary of all the Board committees.