Chief Data Officer — Water And Utilities Business

The mandate

A change in the economics of the sector has made urgent data investment producing limited reusable business value within a listed infrastructure developer and asset operator. The immediate arena is the water and utilities business during a balance-sheet rotation. For mandate 345, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Data Officer operating perimeter covers approximately S$18,950 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, with activity spanning several water and utilities business customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Data Officer Infrastructure remit carries direct influence over roughly 1,450 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Data Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the water and utilities business. The Chief Data Officer Infrastructure seat must resolve a balance-sheet rotation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the water and utilities business. For mandate 345, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Data Officer’s first year on the water and utilities business is expected to end with trusted data products, ownership and measurable adoption. In mandate 345, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Chief Data Officer — Water And Utilities Business seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the water and utilities business remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Data Officer value-creation thesis for the water and utilities business, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately S$18,950 million in project and operating-asset portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Data Officer Infrastructure organisation of about 1,450 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the water and utilities business economics and execution constraints created by a balance-sheet rotation, with Chief Data Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Data Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the water and utilities business; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have converted governed data assets into adopted products with named owners, service levels and economic value in mandate 345.
• Build the Chief Data Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the water and utilities business, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Infrastructure organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the water and utilities business baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to data investment producing limited reusable business value, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Data Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the water and utilities business, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable water and utilities business trend against trusted data products, ownership and measurable adoption, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Data Officer’s agreed first-year water and utilities business value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Data Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the water and utilities business’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Data Officer mandate’s highest-priority water and utilities business risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical water and utilities business talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Data Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Data Officer-owned improvement in the water and utilities business operating constraint behind a balance-sheet rotation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 345: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Data Officer, Data and Analytics Head or Digital Executive in a listed Infrastructure or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the water and utilities business, your Chief Data Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Data Officer brief.

As a Chief Data Officer candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Infrastructure or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of S$11,000 million and led an organisation of at least 1,025 people.

For mandate 345, the board wants two transitions: a difficult water and utilities business portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a balance-sheet rotation. As the prospective Chief Data Officer for this water and utilities business, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 345 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Data Officer must be based in Singapore; international relocation is supported, but this Infrastructure role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Data Officer, Data and Analytics Head or Digital Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Infrastructure governance forum.
• Proven Chief Data Officer ownership of at least S$11,000 million and leadership of no fewer than 1,025 employees in a comparable water and utilities business context.
• One completed Infrastructure or adjacent-sector example of data investment producing limited reusable business value with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from infrastructure, construction, utilities, transport assets or project finance; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Data Officer-level water and utilities business consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Singapore location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 345.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Data Officer package is S$500,000–680,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final water and utilities business scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 345 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Data Officer appointment in Singapore, centred on the water and utilities business, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 345.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 345. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 345.