Chief Executive appointed for further three-year term

ESB Chairman, Lochlann Quinn, has announced Board approval for a three-year extension of the employment contract of our Chief Executive, Padraig McManus. The announcement was made at a Board meeting on Monday, October 20th.

Padraig was appointed Chief Executive in May 2002. The three-year extension applies from May 2009 and has been approved by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Eamon Ryan.

Speaking afterwards the Chairman said; "Padraig has been an excellent Chief Executive, providing strong leadership during a period of immense change for our industry and particularly for ESB. I am sure I speak on behalf of all staff when I congratulate him on his re-appointment and say how much we look forward to working with him over the next three years in meeting the many challenges that face ESB".

Padraig McManus took up his appointment in July 2002. Under his leadership, ESB has undergone enormous change in a rapidly evolving energy market. He has overseen a multi- billion euro investment in the electricity infrastructure, the decrease of the company's market share domestically balanced by expanding abroad, the growing needs of two million customers and the ever-increasing challenges facing the company in the context of climate change. During his tenure, with the support of ESB staff, shareholder value has grown significantly.

A native of Co Kildare, Padraig joined ESB after graduating in electrical engineering from UCD and worked throughout the company, including ESB International where he became MD. His career took him abroad and in 1975 he moved to Germany to join the cable manufacturer, Kablmetal. He returned to Ireland to work in the ESB Networks. In 1981, he moved to Saudi Arabia to work on a project involving the electrification of the western suburbs of Riyadh. In 1986 he went to Ghana to work on the refurbishment of the electricity system.

He was engaged in many ESB International projects including the refurbishment of the power system in Cambodia, the management of Sierra Leone's electricity utility and developing an efficiency and operational programme for the National Power Corporation in the Philippines.

During the mid 1990s, he worked as a senior manager in ESB's Training department, and was one of the management team involved in developing the major change agreement, the Cost and Competitiveness Review (CCR), which was delivered during the late 1990s. He subsequently was appointed Managing Director, ESB International and Commercial Director of ESB.

He negotiated what is regarded as the ground breaking Programme to Achieve Competitiveness and Transformation (PACT), a major change process in ESB, preparing the company for the opening of the electricity market and regulatory reforms. He is a Fellow of Engineers Ireland and the Institute of Engineers.

Following the announcement of his reappointment the Chief Executive said that he was deeply privileged to accept the invitation from the Board to remain in his position for a further three-year period. "I look forward with immense pleasure to continuing to work with ESB staff in meeting the many challenges that lie ahead. We have already worked together through times of enormous change in the electricity industry and are now well-positioned to forge ahead with making ESB a leading internationally-recognised company.

"Commitment, dedication to task and loyalty are hallmarks of ESB staff. These are the qualities that have made the company as strong and vibrant as it is today. I wish to thank you all for the support you have given myself, the Board and our management team since I was first appointed in 2002.

"We will continue to work tirelessly together to build ESB and deliver a safe and first-class service to our customers. They remain at the heart of our strategy.

"Again, I wish to express how honoured I am to be asked to continue leading this great company and to thank you all once more."