Ian Dunsmore

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT IAN DUNSMORE

Almost 30 years in the water industry. Civil engineer by training. Strategic infrastructure leader by choice.I lead Scottish Water\'s Strategic Water Infrastructure team — a group of seven planners responsible for the long-term planning and capital investment programmes behind Scotland\'s trunk mains, aqueducts, tunnels, subsea pipelines, and critical valve infrastructure. We manage £100M+ CAPEX portfolios, and the assets we plan for will serve millions of people for decades. That responsibility drives everything I do.My career has taken me from hydraulic modelling and leakage delivery in Scotland to water engineering in New Zealand, from business development — including delivering the UK\'s first heat from wastewater scheme in 2015 — through to where I am now: leading strategic planning and championing practical innovation.That innovation focus is increasingly shaped by GenAI and data science. I\'m actively applying machine learning techniques to predictive asset management, and pushing for AI adoption that delivers genuine process transformation — not just incremental tweaks. The water industry has enormous potential here, and I believe the leaders who experiment thoughtfully now will define how it\'s done.At heart, I\'m a people-first leader. I believe the best work happens when people feel supported, trusted, and given space to grow. I lead with empathy, and I care about fairness — in how decisions are made, who benefits, and how opportunities are created.Always looking to learn more and connect with like-minded professionals who are rethinking how we manage, maintain, and future-proof critical infrastructure.