Yahoo Finance British Gas owner’s finance boss leaves after seven months
The firm is Britain’s biggest household energy supplier (British Gas)
British Gas owner Centrica today revealed its group chief financial officer is to step down after just seven months.
Johnathan Ford, who joined the troubled firm from HomeServe in June last year, will leave at the end of the month and be replaced by company insider Kate Ringrose.
Ringrose will join the small list of about 50 women heading up the financial strategies of major UK-listed companies.
The executive, who has worked at Britain's biggest household energy supplier for 16 years and was previously group financial controller, will also join the firm's board as an executive director.
Centrica, which just completed the £2.4 billion divestment of its North American energy supply business Direct Energy, has lost more than 80% in value in five years, and been demoted to the FTSE 250.
Last year the firm announced it would cut 5,000 jobs - around 20 per cent of its global workforce - as part of restructuring plans, which the firm has since said are still on track.
Ford said: "I am pleased to have been involved in the initial stages of the turnaround of Centrica and I am disappointed I will not be able to see it through to its conclusion.
"However, the Company has made fundamental progress over the past year and I wish Chris, Kate and the rest of the Centrica team well for the future."
Company boss Chris O'Shea labelled Ringrose "a very capable internal successor". Ringrose said she was "honoured" to take up the role and looks forward to "playing my part".
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