In this episode of Human Innovation, I sit down with Neil Pendle, founder of Waterscan, in Belgium.
Neil built Waterscan from a single contract into one of the UK's leading water consulting firms, working with organizations like British Telecom, Tesco, and Whitbread across nearly three decades, before stepping down as CEO earlier this year and handing leadership to his successor, Barry.
We talk about the moment water stopped being a sustainability line item and became a business continuity risk. Neil describes a call one of his clients, a major brewer, received this year, informing them the water supply would be shut off within the hour. We look at why that kind of call is becoming more common across the UK and southern Europe, what businesses like Gatwick Airport have learned the hard way, and what practical steps organizations can take now, from operating boreholes more effectively to sharing non-potable water between neighboring businesses.
Neil also reflects on leadership itself, drawing a parallel between his life playing international hockey and building a company from the ground up, and how his own leadership style changed over thirty years of growth.
Timecode:
00:00 Hockey World Cups
00:46 Why Number 13
02:39 Sport as Balance
04:38 Coaching and Leadership
05:40 Leading a Growing Company
08:23 Hiring for Attitude
09:58 Stepping Down as CEO
11:41 No Water No Business
13:16 Water Shutdown Reality
17:17 Building Water Resilience
19:50 Gatwick Airport Case
23:21 Droughts and Demand Gap
23:53 Water Needs All Levels
24:28 Policy And Behavior Shift
26:56 Water Pricing Reality
29:46 Talent And Reputation
32:09 Careers In WaterScan
36:16 Origin Story Waterscan
38:04 Scaling And Customer Focus
40:36 Handling Setbacks Together
42:32 Future Data And AI
44:28 Resilience And Risk Mindset
47:33 Closing Thanks
Guest links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-pendle-26332227/
Jens Links:
https://www.jensheitland.com/links
