George Hunt

George is Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) for Smart Energy Water (SEW), he is a recognised leader within the global utility sector with 30 years executive leadership, plus extensive experience in consulting, regulation and strategy.

Prior to joining SEW, George spent 5 years at Sydney Water as ‘General Manager – Customer, Strategy and Regulation’, shaping ‘Sydney Water 2.0’ to have a strong sustainability and digital theme. He was also accountable for the 2020-2024 regulatory submission in direct liaison with NSW Government, media and key environmental and health regulators’ During his time at Sydney Water he also held the position of Chief Information Officer (CIO) and General Manager – Digital Business, where he successfully delivered several programs focused on customer service, operational excellence and digital innovation. Whilst in Australia, George also continued his long involvement with WaterAid as Sydney Water’s WaterAid ambassador.

His long career in this sector also includes roles as Group CIO of Wessex Water, CTO of American Water, Thames Water and Npower Retail, plus considerable experience as an energy and water utilities consultant for KPMG, supporting major programs in British Gas, National Grid, Cincinnati Water, LADWP and Washington DC Water. George believes that energy and water are key to a healthy life, environmental sustainability and economic prosperity, and that the nexus between energy and water is key to the realisation of a green circular economy. He foresees a future where energy and water utilities are able to deliver cross-sector innovation, evolving into citizen-centric, smart resource businesses working in direct partnership with leading digital platform providers like SEW.

George holds a MSc. Information Technology from Kingston University, London, and a BSc. Engineering from University of Birmingham, UK.