Business Stream has appointed Derek Hendry as its new director of strategy, strengthening of its senior team ahead of the English water market opening in 2017.

Business Stream’s new director of strategy Derek Hendry

Hendry will be based in the company’s Edinburgh head office, and will report in to its chief executive Johanna Dow. He will be responsible for around 30 staff and an operational budget of £4 million across technology, people management, business strategy and transformational change.

Hendry joins Business Stream from Standard Life, where his most recent role has been leading change and transformation programmes on international assignments in Canada, China and Hong Kong.

He previously held a number of leadership roles with the company in a variety of IT and business change projects across its pensions, operations and group functions.

Before Standard Life, Derek worked in a range of leadership and project management positions with Aegon and Abbey National/Banco Santander.

Dow said: “Derek joins us at a pivotal time for the business and the industry as a whole. Our recent acquisition from Southern Water doubles our customer base and gives us a strong foothold in the English market ahead of the market opening for next year.

“Derek will lead our transformation activities as we prepare for market entry and continue to invest in systems and processes which will deliver service excellence for our customers across the UK.”

Hendry said: “I’m looking forward to using my extensive change and project management experience to help Business Stream maximise the potential of the exciting opportunities ahead.

“The company has a bold strategy and a culture of ambitious continuous improvement, both of which will be critical in meeting the competitive challenges ahead.”

In May, Business Stream announced the appointment of Jo Mayes as its director of customer operations.