CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Duke Energy announced today that the board of directors has unanimously elected Lynn Good as its next president and chief executive officer, succeeding Jim Rogers, who will continue to serve as chairman of the board until his retirement on Dec. 31, 2013. Good will also serve as a director on the Duke Energy board. She will assume her new role on July 1.
The Duke Energy board of directors will also name one of its independent directors chair-elect in the coming weeks. This individual will assume responsibilities as chairman of the board on Jan. 1, 2014, and will assist the new CEO and the board with a smooth transition in the coming months.
Good, 54, has served as Duke Energy's executive vice president and chief financial officer since July 2009. She joined Cinergy, a Duke Energy predecessor company, in 2003 following 20 years working in senior management roles and as a partner for Deloitte & Touche and Arthur Andersen.
"After a responsible and deliberate selection process by the board of directors, we are delighted that Lynn will become our next president and CEO," said Duke Energy lead director Ann Maynard Gray, who led the board's special committee to select the next CEO. "The selection committee considered several exceptional internal and external candidates and determined that Lynn's leadership abilities and strategic vision for Duke Energy's continued growth make her the ideal choice."
"The committee applied thoughtfulness, collaboration and diligence to its selection process," said board director and selection committee member Jim Hyler. "Our unanimous support of Lynn as our next president and CEO clearly demonstrates that the board is united in its vision for the company and its confidence that Lynn is the best leader to move Duke Energy forward."
Prior to her tenure as Duke Energy's CFO, Good served as group executive and president of Duke Energy's Commercial Businesses organization. In this role, she was principally responsible for the Midwest non-regulated generation, Duke Energy International, Duke Energy Renewables, corporate development, and merger and acquisition activities.
"I am deeply honored by the trust the board has placed in me to lead Duke Energy," said Good. "I have a high degree of confidence in the strength of our company's leadership and dedicated employees."
"I will work to ensure Duke Energy is positioned to continue its track record of outstanding customer service and operational and financial excellence," Good added.
Good will succeed Rogers, who has served as Duke Energy's president and CEO since 2006. In November 2012, Rogers, 65, announced that he will retire from the company by the end of 2013 after a 25-year career as a CEO in the utility industry.
"I have worked closely with Lynn for 10 years, and know she cares deeply about this company, our employees, customers and shareholders," Rogers said. "I applaud the board's choice and am eager to work with Lynn on a seamless transition."
The selection process was led by a nine-member committee of the board's independent directors. The committee and the board were assisted in their search by Russell Reynolds.
Photos and the Duke Energy logo can be accessed on Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dukeenergy/sets/72157634179033979/
Video of the Duke Energy Center and some of the company's generation assets: http://youtu.be/mLl4_fjSMCI
Additional career background is available at http://www.duke-energy.com/about-us/leaders/lynn-good.asp
About Duke Energy
Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with more than $110 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.2 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com.
Forward-Looking Information
This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions.
These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "should," "could," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "will," "potential," "forecast," "target," "guidance," "outlook" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results predicted. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to: state, federal and foreign legislative and regulatory initiatives, including costs of compliance with existing and future environmental requirements, as well as rulings that affect cost and investment recovery or have an impact on rate structures; the ability to recover eligible costs and earn an adequate return on investment through the regulatory process; the costs of retiring Duke Energy Florida's Crystal River Unit 3 could prove to be more extensive than is currently identified, all costs associated with the retirement Crystal River Unit 3 asset, including replacement power may not be fully recoverable through the regulatory process; the ability to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers post-merger; the ability to successfully integrate the Progress Energy businesses and realize cost savings and any other synergies expected from the merger; the risk that the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what the companies expect; the impact of compliance with material restrictions of conditions related to the Progress Energy merger imposed by regulators could exceed our expectations; costs and effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations and claims; industrial, commercial and residential growth or decline in the respective Duke Energy Registrants' service territories, customer base or customer usage patterns; additional competition in electric markets and continued industry consolidation; political and regulatory uncertainty in other countries in which Duke Energy conducts business; the influence of weather and other natural phenomena on each of the Duke Energy Registrants' operations, including the economic, operational and other effects of storms, hurricanes, droughts and tornadoes; the ability to successfully operate electric generating facilities and deliver electricity to customers; the ability to recover, in a timely manner, if at all, costs associated with future significant weather events through the regulatory process; the impact on the Duke Energy Registrants' facilities and business from a terrorist attack, cyber security threats and other catastrophic events; the inherent risks associated with the operation and potential construction of nuclear facilities, including environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates and the ability to recover such costs through the regulatory process, where appropriate; unscheduled generation outages, unusual maintenance or repairs and electric transmission system constraints; the performance of electric generation facilities and of projects undertaken by Duke Energy's non-regulated businesses; the results of financing efforts, including the Duke Energy Registrants' ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including the respective Duke Energy Registrants' credit ratings and general economic conditions; declines in the market prices of equity securities and resultant cash funding requirements for Duke Energy's defined benefit pension plans and nuclear decommissioning trust funds; the level of creditworthiness of counterparties to Duke Energy Registrants' transactions; employee workforce factors, including the potential inability to attract and retain key personnel; growth in opportunities for the respective Duke Energy Registrants' business units, including the timing and success of efforts to develop domestic and international power and other projects; construction and development risks associated with the completion of Duke Energy Registrants' capital investment projects in existing and new generation facilities, including risks related to financing, obtaining and complying with terms of permits, meeting construction budgets and schedules, and satisfying operating and environmental performance standards, as well as the ability to recover costs from ratepayers in a timely manner or at all; the subsidiaries ability to pay dividends or distributions to Duke Energy Corporation holding company (the Parent); the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by accounting standard-setting bodies; the impact of potential goodwill impairments; the ability to reinvest retained earnings of foreign subsidiaries or repatriate such earnings on a tax free basis; and the ability to successfully complete future merger, acquisition or divestiture plans.
Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Duke Energy's and its subsidiaries' reports filed with the SEC and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than Duke Energy has described. Duke Energy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.