TECO Energy, Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas undergo leadership change

Published on July 25, 2017 by Chris Galford


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TECO Energy Inc. and the Florida utilities Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas, which operate under the Canadian-based Emera Inc., gained new members to their senior leadership earlier this month.

In the case of TECO Energy, Rob Bennett – the president and CEO of Emera U.S. Holdings Inc. – has been appointed chief operating officer. At the same time, Emera’s operations lead in the Caribbean – Sarah MacDonald – has been appointed president of TECO Services, effective September 1. Gordon Gillette, president of Tampa Electric and TECO Peoples Gas and a member since 1981, will however remain in his position.

“We’re pleased that Gordon will continue to bring his knowledge and understanding of the business and our Florida customers to the management team,” Chris Huskilson, president and CEO of Emera Inc, said. “Rob’s experience with Emera and his role in leading the integration of the two companies will be invaluable to our future success. Sarah’s diverse experience in the utility business gives her a unique perspective to provide leadership to TECO Services.”

Tampa Electric serves around 725,000 customers in West Central Florida, while Peoples Gas is the state’s largest natural gas distribution utility. TECO Energy is their holding company, which is in turn a subsidiary of Emera Inc. Of the three people noted in this leadership shakeup, Gillette has served the longest, and has previously served as both executive vice president and CFO for TECO Energy.

As for the two newcomers, Bennett has been in the business for nearly 30 years and has previously held senior management and leadership positions throughout Emera’s holdings, most notably as CEO of Nova Scotia Power and COO of Emera itself.

MacDonald has a number of concurrent titles, being president of Emera (Caribbean) Inc., president and CEO of ICD Utilities Ltd. and president and CEO of Grand Bahama Power Co. She first joined Emera in 2001, but at TECO Services she will be responsible for information technology, legal and human resources.