Hydro One Names New Board After Mass Exodus
Hydro One's announcement comes as the utility reported a second-quarter profit of $200 million
It’s an entirely new Board of Directors for Hydro One. It was a mass exodus in July when everyone on the board stepped down following news CEO Mayo Schmidt was leaving. Schmidt’s name was used a lot by Doug Ford during the election, referring to him as Kathleen Wynne’s “$6 million dollar man,” and promising a change in leadership at Hydro One.
The former part-time board came under fire after approving $25,000 raises for themselves despite shares falling about 16 per cent year-over-year. The hike meant their salaries went from $160,000 per year to $185,000 per year, effective Jan 1’st 2018 – half of it in shares. The details came out of Hydro One’s Management Information Circular.
READ MORE: HYDRO ONE BOARD GAVE THEMSELVES A $25K PAY INCREASE
In Schmidt’s case, he will receive a $400,000 lump sum payment in lieu of all post-retirement benefits and allowances after stepping down.
Doug Ford said then, “We promised the people of Ontario that we would lower their hydro rates and that started by addressing leadership at Hydro One. I was pleased to learn this afternoon that the CEO and all board members will be resigning.”
“This highly-qualified board has strong governance and industry experience.”
“This highly-qualified board has strong governance and industry experience and brings with them significant electricity, business and capital markets expertise,” said Paul Dobson, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Hydro One Limited. “Their oversight will help us to build on the positive momentum the Company has achieved since being privatized in 2015.”
The six new directors were nominated by Hydro One’s ad hoc nominating committee are:
- Former Weyerhaeuser executive Anne Giardini
- Former New Brunswick Power chief executive David Hay
- Alignvest Capital Management managing partner Timothy Hodgson
- Canada Post interim chief executive Jessica McDonald
- Former Sappi Fine Papers chief executive William Sheffield
- Melissa Sonberg, executive-in-residence at McGill University’s Desautel Faculty of Management.
Hydro One’s announcement comes as the utility reported a second-quarter profit of $200 million or 33 cents per diluted share. Its revenue for the three months ended June 30 totalled $1.48 billion, up from $1.37 billion in the same quarter in 2017.
