From BP to British Gas – a biography of Iain Conn

This morning (30 July) British Gas owner Centrica announced its chief executive of more than four years was to step down after the company’s AGM next year.

The announcement of Iain Conn’s departure came alongside less than satisfactory financial results which saw a statutory operating loss for the six months to 30 June of £446 million compared to a £704 million profit last year.

Conn possesses an impeccable pedigree, having worked at BP for over a decade.

According to his Centrica biography, the outgoing chief executive possesses a “deep understanding of the energy sector built up over a lifetime in the industry”.

He served seven years as BP’s chief executive, downstream (BP’s refining and marketing division) and, from 2004, 10 years on the company board.

Throughout his BP career he held a number of senior roles including in trading, exploration and production, and the management of corporate functions such as safety, marketing, technology and human resources.

He also served as a non-executive director and latterly senior independent director of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc from January 2005 until May 2014.

Conn’s other external appointments include non-executive director of BT Group plc, chairman of the advisory board of Imperial College Business School and a member of the Council of Imperial College and the CBI’s President’s Committee.

Speaking about his departure today, Conn said: “We felt at this juncture of this final stage in the repositioning of the portfolio in line with what we laid out in 2015 was the right time for me to signal that I am going to step down and that somebody new will take over the smaller customer-facing company which I hope to have largely delivered on by the time I leave.”

Charles Berry, chairman of Centrica, said: “Iain has led the strategic repositioning of Centrica since 2015 and has been the driving force behind our plan to turn Centrica into a sustainable business that is built around delivering clean, affordable energy and high-quality services and solutions for our customers, and to respond to the significant global challenge of moving to a lower carbon energy future.

“Iain has now agreed with the board that, while he will continue to focus on driving this transformation, including pursuing the announced divestments and continuing to drive performance and efficiency, he will also support an orderly succession before stepping down in due course.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Iain for his hard work and passion, and for his ongoing commitment to transforming Centrica into a business with a stronger foundation for sustainable growth.”