Board appointees mark new phase for Spring

Spring, the UK & Ireland centre of excellence for water innovation, has announced the appointment of three new board members to help steer the organisation into its next phase. 

Graeme Wright, Christian Inglis and Anthony David King take up their positions as Spring moves forward with an enhanced programme to support the water sector with its innovation strategy. Joining from a variety of backgrounds, they bring fresh insights to help Spring strengthen its offering to the sector. 

Graeme Wright, chief digital officer for manufacturing and utilities, Fujitsu  

Graeme has been with Fujitsu since 2001. A regular Fujitsu blogger, he joins the Spring board in an annual rotation seat from his role as an advisory member of the Spring Strategic Advisory Panel. Graeme has extensive knowledge of energy and water utilities and is well-versed in emerging technologies.  

Christian Inglis, head of urban systems, Innovate UK   

Christian leads the urban environments team at Innovate UK, focusing on strategy and activities that bring together and connect different sector activities in an urban environment. He has been at Innovate UK since 2007 and his industry background focusses on research and business development. 

Anthony David King, founder, AD:K 

Anthony is an entrepreneur, advisor and founder of AD:K, an innovation consultancy which builds and advises on tech hubs, accelerators and new ventures for innovators, corporates, funds, banks and governments. He brings a wealth of experience from the UK start-up, tech and innovation ecosystem and is also an active investor in technology ventures. 

Steve Kaye, Spring’s board chair, said, “The entire Spring board is delighted to welcome Graeme, Christian and Anthony. Their broad range of expertise will bring huge value to our service offering, as we move forward into an exciting new period of growth.” 

Spring launched in December 2021 to support the water sector in delivering the ambitions of its 2050 Water Innovation Strategy. It has recently carried out a user engagement exercise and, as a result, is revamping some services, including the Spring Innovation Accelerator and Knowledge Transfer Service.   

Carly Perry, Spring managing director, said: “As we evolve and mature, I’m keen to create an equitable environment at board level representing all our stakeholders, so we can continue to deliver on the commitments we made to the sector when starting out. The additional expertise of Graeme, Christian and Anthony will help us achieve these goals.   

“To have such a diverse board of influential individuals with representatives now from supply chain, the start-up ecosystem, the national innovation agency and the water companies themselves, is brilliant news for Spring and the wider sector. 

“I’d like to express heartfelt thanks to our outgoing board members Ezechi Britton MBE and Christine McGourty for their invaluable guidance and support since Spring’s inception.” 

The new appointments will join the following board members: 

Tony Harrington, director of environment, Dŵr Cymru; Steve Kaye, chief executive, UKWIR; Denise Massey, managing director, Energy Innovation Centre; Carly Perry managing director, Spring; Lila Thompson, chief executive, British Water; Jason Tucker, director of strategic delivery & commercial, Anglian Water; Nigel Watson, CIO, Northumbrian Water. 

Taxonomy

• Water