Nova Scotia Power CEO Leaves Seven Months Into Job
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Power Inc.’s president and CEO is “leaving the organization” seven months after being promoted to the head of the company.
According to a news release from Emera Inc., NS Power’s parent company, Wayne O’Connor is leaving “to pursue a new opportunity outside the province.”
Before his departure, O’Connor had worked for Emera for 17 years, holding several leadership positions within the company.
“We are grateful for Wayne’s contribution to Emera over the last 17 years and we wish him well in his new role,” Emera’s president and CEO Scott Balfour said.
O’Connor was named Nova Scotia Power’s president and CEO as part of a leadership shakeup at Emera last October.
At the time, he replaced Karen Hutt, who moved from CEO of NS Power to an executive role at Emera.
Those moves happened at what Emera called “an important time” for both it and NS Power. A few months prior, Emera went through a “strategy renewal process” and NS Power completed a “strategy refresh.”
When O’Connor started as NS Power’s CEO, Balfour said he would bring his “operational and strategy experience back to [Nova Scotia Power] as it enters the next phase” of its development.
One week ago, Emera announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2020.
The company’s overall profits were up more than $200-million compared to the first quarter of 2019. Income from its Canadian electric utilities was down by $4-million “due to a lower contribution” from Nova Scotia Power.
The decrease was “mainly due” to higher maintenance and operations costs and lower sales volumes at Nova Scotia Power.
Emera also adjusted its earning down by $14-million in Q1 after reevaluating income tax assets and liabilities “due to the reduction in the Nova Scotia provincial corporate income tax rate.”
With O’Connor stepping down as NS Power’s CEO, Rick Janega will take over in the interim on June 1 while Emera begins its search for O’Connor’s permanent replacement.
Janega has been with Emera for 30 years and has been “a key part” of the company’s growth.
He’s held leadership positions at NS Power in the past, and since March 2018 he has been the chief operating officer of electric utilities at Emera.