Ewan Bows Out of Scottish Water Leadership Role

After more than three decades working in Scotland’s water sector, Ewan Robertson has bowed out of his leadership role with Scottish Water to embrace retirement.

Ewan (62), who lives in Currie on the outskirts of Edinburgh, played an integral role in the establishment and leadership of the Specialist Services department within Scottish Water, which helped reduce the reliance on outside consultants, built excellent internal capability and delivered a best value service. 

 
His career began with construction company Sir Robert MacAlpine following his graduation in civil engineering, before he joined Fife Council’s drainage department in 1991 and embarked on his career in the water industry.  
 
East of Scotland Water was set up in 1996 and Ewan was appointed its Contracts Manager, before landing the role of General Manager of Procurement when Scottish Water was established in 2002. 
 
“It’s been brilliant,” Ewan said. “I’ve loved it. 33 years is a big part of your life, and it will be really strange not having the people from Scottish Water in my life on a daily basis – that is what I will miss the most, that interaction with all the lovely people I’ve worked with over the years.” 
 
Ewan has been working on a flexible retirement basis for the past year in an attempt to ease himself into full retirement and says it has been invaluable in helping him to wind down. 
 
He said: “You go from being right in the middle of things, to not being as involved and that takes some adjustment which is why flexible retirement is such a positive thing - I’m just about ready for moving on now, although it will be a wrench to leave. 
 
“I’ve always really enjoyed my work – everybody has bad days at work where they don’t go as planned, but I’ve always liked working at Scottish Water, always liked the people, liked getting the craic and using a bit of humour to get through those harder days. 
 
“I’ve loved the hard work, loved making things better for people, loved being part of something that is so fantastic for Scotland. Cut me and I bleed Scottish Water. It is time to make way for new people now though - for new energy and enthusiasm, for that sparkle that people can bring with them and to let them get on with it and have the fun that I have had.” 
 
Ewan has plenty of exciting plans to take up his free time now he is retired, from getting away in his campervan more with wife Pauline, to trying out new hobbies such as archery. 
 
Looking back at his career, he said he is proud of the reputation he built as someone who could get things done and as someone who invested time in building up the people around him. 
 
“I’ve always felt trusted to do the right thing by Scottish Water and that is a fantastic work environment to be in,” Ewan said. “It made me feel really valued as a person. My dad used to say that the one thing you can never get back is your own good name, so I’ve always tried to treat people with respect, to apologise and own my mistakes. 
 
“For any young person starting out in their career, regardless of which sector, I would advise them to always say yes to the opportunities that present themselves – my career path has been founded on saying yes to things. I would always give it a go, even if I didn’t know if I would be any good at it and it has led to some brilliant experiences!”