Kelda chief executive Kevin Whiteman wins major National Business Award

The chief executive of the Kelda Group, Kevin Whiteman, was last night named the Orange Business Leader of the Year at the National Business Awards, a prestigious ceremony which has been described as the Oscars of the British business world.

Mr Whiteman, who is also the managing director of Yorkshire Water, was judged the most outstanding entrant who best demonstrated exceptional leadership and vision.

The judges also looked for evidence of how the entrant's business had significantly improved its performance for its customers, employees, suppliers and stakeholders.

The shortlist of entrants for the award also included top business leaders such as Marks & Spencer's Stuart Rose and Sir Fred Goodwin from the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mr Whiteman said: "This is an award for the whole company, not just for myself. It's our colleagues - who are all dedicated to their work - who dictate the reputation of a company and at Yorkshire Water we are surrounded by people who are really proud to work here. They do a great job and it's thanks to everyone that we were successful last night."

Mr Whiteman has been managing director of Yorkshire Water since 2000 and chief executive of the Kelda Group since 2002, and in that time he has led a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of the business. Under his leadership, Yorkshire Water was named Utility of the Year for two years running and has been shortlisted again this year.

In a year which has seen the water industry as a whole in the media spotlight for a variety of controversial issues, the achievements shown by Yorkshire Water are even more noticeable. Putting customers at the heart of its operation is vital for the water company and has led to a step-change in its ways of working over recent years.

Yorkshire Water reached the top of Ofwat's overall performance assessment league table and is the most financially efficient water company in the UK. Over the past three years the Kelda Group has jumped from 86th to 24th in the Business in the Community's Top 100 Companies That Count report and the share price recently hit an all-time high.

Mr Whiteman started his career in the mining industry, quickly moving through the ranks to senior management before joining the National Rivers Authority. He joined Yorkshire Water as director of the waste water business before taking up his current post in 2000.

Mr Whiteman added: "The real driving focus for Yorkshire Water is our customer service. We work hard at this and have a vision to be clearly the best company in the industry. Awards such as the Orange Business Leader and Utility Company of the Year are very important but we know we still have some way to go to be perfect. We are always looking for ways to improve and will never be complacent."