John Morea is to retire as chief executive of gas distribution network SGN on 12 August after serving in the role since 2008.
Mark Wild, who led the recent opening of the Elizabeth tube in London as chief executive of Crossrail, has been appointed as Morea’s successor and will take up the position on 15 August.
Morea is leaving SGN following a 42-year career in the energy industry. He started as a power engineer, progressing into the management of SSE’s electricity distribution and transmission networks before joining SGN.
SGN chair Nick Salmon said: “John is a widely respected industry figure who has built an enduring reputation for SGN as a safety-first, sector-leading energy company which is the number one network for customer service. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank John for his service and achievements during his time with SGN and wish him well for the future.”
“I’m extremely proud of what many thousands of my colleagues have achieved since SGN began life,” said Morea. “We’ve had a great start but now it’s time for a new chapter, so I want to wish Mark every possible success and thank everyone I’ve worked with over the years.”
Wild said: “It’s incredibly exciting to be joining SGN as the company prepares to meet the net zero challenge through world-leading innovation and engineering excellence. I look forward to making sure we are best placed to do that while maintaining our essential round-the-clock service to keep millions of people safe and warm.”