Centrica’s chief financial officer to step down

Centrica has announced its chief financial officer (CFO) of four years, Jeff Bell, will stand down from his post in October this year.

Bell will continue to be employed by the company in a financial advisory role until July next year. He will also continue as a director of Spirit Energy, an exploration and production company part-owned by Centrica, and chairman of its audit committee until that time.

Chris O’Shea will take over as chief financial officer at Centrica from 1 November. He has previously held group CFO positions at Smiths Group plc and Vesuvius plc. His experience also includes a senior finance role with Royal Dutch Shell plc in the UK, the US, and Africa.

O’Shea said: “I am honoured to be joining a group with both a long history of supplying customers and some really exciting technology to meet the future needs of our customers in the UK and overseas.

“I have watched the developments in the energy sector closely over the past few years and look forward to delivering the opportunities and addressing the challenges which lay ahead.”

The outgoing CFO said he was looking forward to continuing a financial advisory role and working with his successor to ensure an orderly transition.

Bell added: “After four years as group CFO, I’m more confident than ever that the Centrica strategic direction is the right one and it has been a privilege to have played a role in the first phase of its delivery.”

The changes follow the completion of phase one of a new company strategy announced in July 2015.

Centrica says with the first phase now complete, the balance sheet strengthened, the initial disposal programme completed and the material cost efficiency programme delivered three years early, the board has agreed that Jeff will stand down from the board and hand over to a successor for the next phase of the company’s development.

Iain Conn, chief executive of Centrica, said: “I would like to thank Jeff for his significant contribution and the dedication he has given to the group.

“With his considerable knowledge of Centrica, Jeff has been an invaluable partner to me as we took on the challenge of re-shaping the company and its performance against a very challenging external backdrop and strong competition.

“Chris is very experienced in operating internationally within large businesses and has overseen a number of business and organisational transformations during his career.

“He understands the complexities of energy markets and commodity risk and the application of engineering and technology in providing solutions to business customers.”