DRAX BOSS THOMPSON TO STEP DOWN
ONE of Britain’s few female chief executives is stepping down after 12 years at the head of UK energy firm Drax.
The FTSE 250 company fell 6½p to 309p after it confirmed that Dorothy Thompson – who was appointed in 2005 – has decided to leave the company by year end and will be replaced by chief financial officer Will Gardiner from January 1.
It ends the tenure of a rare UK female company head, particularly in the energy industry. There are only 10 female CEOs across the FTSE 250, according to the Professional Boards Forum BoardWatch, while there are six female chiefs in the FTSE 100. Drax Group generates about 7 per cent of the UK’s electricity and owns a biomass and coal-fired power plant in Selby, North Yorkshire.
Chairman Philip Cox thanked Ms Thompson for her “enormous contribution” to the company.
Her successor joined the board as finance chief in November 2015, having served as chief financial officer of global semiconductor business CSR, as a divisional finance director at BSkyB and as finance head of network and telecoms firm Easynet Group.
Drax said it was launching a search for Mr Gardiner’s replacement.