Tony Wray was head of one of the few Midlands FtSE 100 companies, Severn Trent Plc, having brought it back from “severe and public difficulties” when he started in the water and waste management business.
Appointed to the Board of Directors in 2005, Tony became Chief Executive in 2007, when he set about changing the company’s strategic direction and rebuilding its reputation. During this period of change, Severn Trent has seen continual growth and now employs 5,500 people across the UK, 3,500 in its supply chain and around 2,500 around the world.
His success and experiences of leading Severn Trent have also been beneficial to Staffordshire University, where tony has supported the Leading for Success programme, aimed at boosting the skills and abilities of senior managers.
He said: “We had severe and public difficulties when I joined Severn Trent in 2005 and we have been going through a number of years of strategic redirection with the company, rebuilding our reputation, raising the standards of service we offer and improving the quality of our products. this has helped Severn Trent to grow between five and seven percent per year. It’s a very exciting time.
I was asked by Staffordshire University to come and tell staff about these changes and turning the company around and that’s where our partnership was formed. Working with the University’s leadership and sharing these experiences and ideas has been very engaging and thought provoking.”
Tony’s own experience of Higher Education saw him undertake a geology degree at Sheffield University, having studied the subject in his hometown’s Sixth Form College in Leicester. After graduating in 1983, he joined British gas and stayed with the company during a series of acquisitions and mergers, whilst the company changed to Bg to transco to Lattice group, when it eventually merged with National grid. In 2003 he took a career change and worked for telecoms company, Eircom in Ireland, where he was charged with rolling out broadband. He then came back to England to be closer to his family and take up his job at Severn Trent Water.
His time at Seven Trent Water ended in 2014,
The Award of Honorary Doctor of Staffordshire University is bestowed upon tony for his services to the energy, water and waste industries as well as his leadership in the transformation of Severn
trent Water, and in sharing those experiences with Staffordshire University’s senior leaders through the Leading for Success Programme.