Clearway Speaker Profile

Mathew Telfer is the Head of Operations Support at Watercare, the water and wastewater provider for Tamaki Makaurau. With a career spanning two decades in the water and wastewater industry, Mathew began his journey at Metrowater in 2004. Over the years, he has held various roles across customer service and Billing, Commercial relationships, Operations and infrastructure management teams and Contract Delivery for the Waikato District.

In 2010, Mathew transitioned to Watercare following the amalgamation of local government. In the months leading up to amalgamation Mathew played a pivotal role in the Customer workstream of Project One which created the Customer arm of Watercare enabling the transformation from seven regional entities to a single combined wholesale and retail entity (Watercare), serving 1.4 million direct customers.

Mathew was promoted to the role of Head of Operations Support at Watercare two years ago, overseeing the Operational support functions. His responsibilities encompass a range of teams including Smart Networks, Asset integrity, Nerve Centre, Energy, Contract management and Fleet, Facilities and Security.

Prior to this, Mathew served as Contract Services Delivery Manager three and a half years ago, overseeing the delivery of Three waters services for the Waikato District Council.

Building strong relationships is the cornerstone of Mathew's professional and personal approach. He has collaborated with multiple stakeholders, including the Waikato District Council, Auckland Council, developers, design consultants, and contractors, to deliver high-quality water services.