The water company Severn Trent has appointed a new Chief Executive to take over from the current boss, Tony Wray, who is retiring next year.

Liv Garfield (pictured) is currently the Chief Executive of BT Openreach and headed up the firm’s rollout of fibre optic broadband. She will be just one of four female executives for the FTSE 100 companies when she joins the firm in the spring.

Ms Garfield’s annual salary will be £650,000, with a 25% pension contribution pushing her pay package up to £812,500.  She will also be eligible for an annual bonus of 120% of her salary, the Telegraph reported.

Andrew Duff, Chairman of Severn Trent said: “Liv brings experience of managing customer service delivery and complex organisations in a regulated environment.”