Centrica has revealed that group chief financial officer Chris O’Shea is to take on the role of interim chief executive with immediate effect.
The parent company of British Gas also announced Scott Wheway, who has been a non-executive director since 2016, will replace Charles Berry as chairman. Berry has been on sick leave since 12 February and is following medical advice to step down.
Berry said: “It has been a great honour to chair Centrica, but when the doctor tells you to reduce your workload, you are wise to listen. I wish everyone at Centrica great success in the future.”
Centrica stressed that a search for a permanent chief executive would continue and that outgoing boss Iain Conn would remain available until the Annual General Meeting on 11 May but the day-to-day leadership of the company will pass to O’Shea from today.
Wheway will retain his current position as chairman of Axa UK alongside the Centrica role but will resign from the board of Santander, where he is senior independent director and responsible banking committee chair. He is the former chief executive of Best Buy Europe (retail services), and was managing director of Boots as well as chief executive of Tesco in Japan.
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 focused 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.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Iain for his continued commitment and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges during his tenure as CEO. Iain has led the repositioning of the company back towards the customer and towards a lower carbon future and has delivered significant portfolio simplification, debt reduction and cost efficiency. The board wishes Iain well and thanks him for his contribution.”
National press reports last month tipped Sarwjit Sambhi, chief executive of Centrica Consumer, as a likely successor to Conn although insiders told Utility Week at the time that O’Shea was a strong contender.
Stephen Hester will replace Wheway as chair of the Centrica Remuneration Committee with immediate effect.