UK Centrica Replaces Chair, CEO

UK retailer Centrica has appointed CFO Chris O'Shea as interim CEO with immediate effect, as Iain Conn stepped down from the board. Conn, who announced his departure last year, will "remain available" until the May 11 annual general meeting to support the handover, Centrica said March 17.

The chairman, Charles Berry, also resigned with immediate effect on health grounds and his job will be taken by Scott Wheway, acting chairman since February 12.

Conn had been CEO during a turbulent time, with the government's tariff cap on retail gas and power sales blamed for much of the company's losses in the last few years. The company also lost a lot of customers as competition in the sector became tougher. The share price has fallen steadily as profit warning followed profit warning, although the board accepted his strategy for shoring up the business.

One revenue-raising scheme, the planned sale of the upstream business in a joint venture with Bayerngas, called Spirit Energy, has missed the tide: Brent crude now trades at about $30/barrel and European gas is at a long-term low price as well. Conn has offloaded some assets though, including the King's Lynn power plant.

Wheway said “I’m acutely aware that I’m taking this role at a time when we need to navigate our way through the current volatility caused by the impact of coronavirus. Protecting our employees and customers is a priority for us, particularly those who are vulnerable. As a business we remain focussed on structural simplification, improving our efficiency and delivering growth in our customer facing businesses.

“I will immediately be concentrating on completing the search for a CEO for Centrica, which includes both internal and external candidates. In the meantime, I have asked Chris O’Shea to take over as interim CEO until that search is concluded. Chris is an experienced CFO with a strong track record of cost efficiency and financial discipline, and I will work closely with him during this period."