West London MD joins from contractor Suez

At the authority meeting at Harrow council, Ms Beal, in her new role, leads the executive side of the authority in Part Two discussions about the authority’s contract with Suez, just days after having swapped over from heading up the contract as a Suez employee. She joined the authority on Monday this week.

The authority (WLWA) awarded a £900 million plus PPP contract to Suez in 2014 and this provides for treatment of up to 300,000 tonnes of waste from west London’s 1.6 million residents. The waste will be bulked up at two transfer stations and sent by rail for energy recovery near Bristol.

PPP Contract

Prior to joining the WLWA, Ms Beal had worked for Suez (previously SITA UK) since 2003 and was most recently ‘Head of public sector development and West London PPP Contract’.

Until Monday, she was responsible for the operation of the West London contract including, according to her Linkedin profile, full operational service, 50 staff, the refurbishment of two rail-linked transfer stations and the growth of commercial business.

Ms Beal succeeds Jim Brennan who stepped down from the post of director at the WLWA earlier this year, having overseen the tender and contract process which saw the appointment of Suez.

The WLWA serves the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames. Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, chair of the authority, said that he was pleased about the appointment of Ms Beal to the post and emphasised that she was “the best candidate”.

Delighted

Cllr Mahfouz, who is from the London borough of Ealing, told letsrecycle.com: “We are delighted to have appointed Emma Beal. We really value her experience of working with a major contractor and her involvement with local authorities.”

Cllr Mahfouz emphasised that the authority was pleased to have a managing director who appreciated the timescale and scope of the contract. He said: “This contract is our biggest spend and it is obviously good that we have someone who understands the period of the contract and is able to make sure we can get the best out of the contract.”

“It is obviously good that we have someone who understands the period of the contract”

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Cllr Bassam Mahfouz
West London Waste Authority

Asked about any potential conflict of interest, Cllr Mahfouz said he did not see any at all, noting with regard to Suez that “obviously they were well aware of who she is going to”.

He added that “it is good to have a woman in a senior executive post, but equally she got it as the best person for the job and brings great experience with her.”

Overall the authority is well placed to meet future waste challenges, said Cllr Mahfouz, who also noted that the authority has won awards for waste prevention work and has a range of other activities under way.

Success

A spokesman for Suez recycling and recovery UK said: “Emma was a long-serving and valued member of the team at Suez recycling and recovery UK and we wish her great success in her new role.

“We’re pleased that we’ll be able to continue working with Emma, albeit it in a new form, and we’re sure that her experience will be beneficial to both parties.”

Commenting on the core piece of infrastructure for the contract, he added: “The Severnside Energy Recovery Centre, which will treat West London’s waste material, is progressing well and is now in the final stages of commissioning. As part of the commissioning process, we have been sending waste material by rail to Severnside for the past three months and all of the redevelopment works at the two rail-linked transfer stations in West London are now complete.”