SA Water has appointed experienced utility leader John Penicud as its new General Manager of Operations and Maintenance, strengthening the organisation’s operational leadership as it continues to grow.
Penicud joins SA Water from the United Kingdom, where he has built a career across the water and energy sectors in senior operational and executive leadership roles.
Most recently, he served as Managing Director of Wastewater at Southern Water, one of the UK’s largest water utilities, providing services to around 4.7 million customers across England’s south coast.
SA Water Chief Executive David Ryan said Penicud’s appointment reflects the utility’s ongoing commitment to delivering safe, reliable and sustainable water services.
“John brings deep operational experience from large and complex utility environments, along with a strong focus on safety, people and environmental outcomes,” Ryan said.
“His leadership will support our teams as we continue to operate and maintain infrastructure that is essential to communities across a vast and diverse state.”
At Southern Water, Penicud oversaw the performance of more than 300 wastewater treatment plants and managed the reuse of around 1.4 billion litres of wastewater each day.
His responsibilities included operations, maintenance, long-term planning and major investment programs aimed at improving environmental outcomes and supporting population growth. He also led large multidisciplinary teams across operations, maintenance, engineering, science and capital delivery, supported by a significant contractor workforce.
Penicud said the opportunity to join SA Water was driven by the scale and complexity of the organisation’s operations.
“I am fascinated by the challenge of supporting infrastructure to such a large, diverse area, at a time of growth and expansion,” he said.
“South Australia is considerably drier than the UK, so also of particular interest is the opportunity to oversee the desalination plants and water reuse schemes.”
Safety and culture have been central to Penicud’s leadership throughout his career.
“An uncompromising approach to health and safety should always be, in my view, fundamental to leading teams of any size,” he said.
“Clearly safety is a central focus, ensuring we do the right job means that it must be done safely and there cannot be compromise on this.”
Penicud also brings extensive experience leading organisational transformation, contract reform and operational efficiency initiatives that have improved reliability, safety, customer outcomes and environmental performance.
Penicud said his immediate priorities would be learning about South Australia and working closely with SA Water’s teams.
“My priorities in SA Water are to understand the land and heritage of the state and how this has then shaped the evolution of the infrastructure to support it,” he said.
“In addition, I’m looking forward to seeing the teams work together to build and operate this essential critical infrastructure that is key to life.”
