Veolia has confirmed that Richard Kirkman has been appointed CEO of Veolia for Northern Europe, and will also become CEO of the UK business, from 2 April 2026. Kirkman knows the UK well, having spent 26 years leading the building and operation of key infrastructure for Veolia in the UK between 1995 and 2020.
Most recently, he was CEO of Veolia in Australia & New Zealand, based in Sydney and managed the transformation of the zone which doubled in size over five years. Richard led Veolia’s Pacific operations responsible for 4$AUD bn in revenue, 7,000 people, and 350 operational sites.
In his new role, Kirkman will oversee operations across the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland and the Netherlands which provide services to industrial, municipal and commercial customers. This zone comprises almost 20,000 people and £4 bn in revenue, with operations and combined operations across water, waste and energy. He will also head up growth and innovation at Veolia Group level, helping accelerate organic growth and new innovative offerings worldwide, and he also joins Veolia Group’s Executive Committee.
Gavin Graveson, outgoing Senior Vice-President, Northern Europe and CEO, UK at Veolia has been appointed CEO of the Group’s Asia Pacific Zone effective from 2 April 2026. He will continue as a member of the Group Executive Committee.
