John Power Retires

Family, friends and ESB colleagues in large gathered on Thursday, September 13th last, to bid
a fond farewell to John Power on his departure from ESB to take up the position of Director
General of Engineers Ireland, after nearly 30 years of loyal and distinguished service to ESB.

A Kerry man born and bred, John was born on the Saturday of an All Ireland Final which was won by
Kerry for the 17th occasion. There is no further need to explain how deep runs the Kerry blood in John!

From his school going days John was an excellent sportsman excelling at Athletics and Gaelic Football and of course in later years in golf. John qualified in Electrical Engineering in UCD in 1975 and worked for 2 1/2 years with GE in the U.S. He returned in 1978 and started work in ESB in the Sales Department arranging connections for companies setting up in Ireland with large electrical
loads.

In 1980, John moved to Portlaoise district to the position of Sales Engineer. In 1986 John was appointed to the position of Marketing Manager, West Region. 1990 was a big year for John. He
changed jobs from Marketing Manager to Customer Services Manager, completed an MBA in Galway, and proposed and got married to Mary (Prendergast) all in the space of 12 months. John and Mary are a particularly generous and hospitable couple and many ESB people have found the Powers to be excellent and friendly hosts.

In 1993 John was seconded to Dublin to the Corporate Change Team to design the way forward for ESB and strategically position the company for future survival and growth. In 1994 John was appointed as the first HR Manager for the Customer Services Business Unit, under Ted Dalton as MD. Within weeks the CCR process was to begin and many will appreciate the daily challenges which were faced by John and his team during that time and also their ultimate achievements.

In 1997 John was appointed Executive Director, International Services & Industrial Holdings in
ESBI where he looked after 6 companies. His role also brought him on many trips overseas, he has
been in upwards of 40 countries overall for ESB during his career, either directly through his work or through his involvement as ESB representative on the World Energy Council.

In 2000 John was appointed Head of Supply Chain in ESB Networks Manager in ESB. During this time, the Materials function was also rationalised
through the closure of the appliance delivery business and also the closure of the Limerick and Sligo supply stores. There was also significant value obtained by John through the disposal of a number of properties at that time.

John’s final ESB posting was as Head of Corporate Affairs. His calm and supportive demeanour and his
innate feel for how ESB should be positioned with its various stakeholders brought a new dimension to the role. John Power has had a truly memorable, productive and enjoyable career.

He has walked the fairways of the 269 golf courses that he has played worldwide. He has been an effective member of ESB and has always displayed admirable commitment to his work and team mates. He has been loyal and friendly and always
good company. John could always be relied to represent ESB with earned pride internally and externally.

Engineers Ireland is fortunate to have him and we are sure his presence there will continue to be an
asset to ESB. We wish John and Mary sincere good wishes for the future.