King will leave the company on March 31 next year following a four month cross over period with Seavers who starts December 1st this year, to allow “the best possible leadership transition”, a statement from the company said.
Seavers joins the company from his current role of founder, president and CEO of Red Hawk Fire and Security. His career has included leadership roles at GE, United Technologies and Tyco.
Chief executive officer of National Grid, Steve Holliday said: “I am delighted we have been able to find such a strong successor to Tom. Dean brings a wealth of experience in strategy and delivering performance improvement; that enhanced focus on strategic and operational excellence will enable the business to continue to deliver strong customer results for years to come.”
Commenting on the appointment, Citigroup said: “This is an important appointment for National Grid in our view, despite recent improvements in achieved returns in key US businesses there is still further work to do to improve returns, efficiency and profitability, which will become incrementally more important in the coming years.”
King leaves the role after eight years, during which time the company completed a major restructuring and a significant period of regulatory engagement. Returns on equity have improved by 2.1 per cent since 2009, the company said.
King said it felt like the “right time” to move on and would “continue to watch National Grid’s progress with great interest.”