Derek Hendry has joined Business Stream as Director of Strategy and Corporate Services in a move that completes the strengthening of its senior team ahead of the English water market opening in 2017.

In June, Business Stream announced that it was buying the non-domestic customer base of Southern Water, creating the third biggest player in the Anglo-Scottish market.

Derek 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.

Based in the company’s Edinburgh head office, and reporting into Chief Executive Johanna Dow, Derek will be responsible for around 30 staff and an operational budget of £4m across technology, people management, business strategy and transformational change.

Johanna Dow, chief executive of Business Stream 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. ”

Commenting on his new role Derek added: “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.