47-year-old Slessor will join RSE’s board as CEO in January 2024, following a 17-year career with UK infrastructure PLC Galliford Try. Stephen joined Galliford Try as a quantity surveyor in 2006, and worked up to managing director of its £500 million revenue Environment business.

Amongst his accomplishments at Galliford Try, Stephen led the merger of Galliford Try water with NMCN PLC, creating the largest single contractor to the UK water sector in 2021. He is influential on a number of industry advisory boards as an active non-executive director for British Water and the Scottish Futures Trust. Stephen was also president of the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors until March 2022.

Stephen joins RSE at an important junction in the company’s growth ambitions, six months after announcing investment from London-based equity partners MML. Current CEO Iain MacGregor will remain an executive director at RSE and a significant shareholder in the group.

MacGregor commented on the new appointment: “I am delighted to be welcoming Stephen into the RSE family at such an exciting time. We have enjoyed considerable growth in the last four years, turning a £60m service company in Scotland to a £250m+ technical specialist that services clients in the water sector across the UK.

“Demand for innovation to meet the needs of the water sector is positioning RSE for further growth. We believe that bringing Stephen’s skills, experience and energy into the business will help guide RSE with our growth plans and realise the full potential of our modular solutions across UK and International markets.”

Stephen Slessor said: “I’m thankful to GT for the opportunity afforded me in my previous role.

“It’s an exciting time to be joining RSE and it fulfils my entrepreneurial aspirations to build something unique and game changing in the water sector – a true disruptor. RSE’s differentiated technical offering, including its modular approach to water treatment, will shape the future of the sector in the UK and abroad.

“I’m pleased to now be part of this and look forward to working with my new colleagues when I join in January.”