By CHRIS DANIELS
Patrick Strange, chief executive of New Zealand's biggest power lines company, Vector, has lost his job.
Vector staff were told late yesterday that Strange, who has been CEO of the Auckland regional powerlines company since its formation in 1999, would be replaced by Australian energy executive Mark Franklin.
Strange
was asked to re-apply for his job after the company's purchase of UnitedNetworks for $1.5 billion.
This made Vector the largest lines company in New Zealand, and one of Strange's main rivals for the job was former UnitedNetworks chief executive Dan Warnock.
The decision of the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust, which owns Vector, to put his job up for competition has surprised and disappointed Vector staff, many of whom are deeply loyal to Strange.
He was one of the few senior executives of what was once Mercury Energy to emerge from the 1998 Auckland CBD power blackouts with his reputation enhanced.
The Vector chairman, Michael Stiassny, said Franklin had gained a reputation as an exceptional chief executive.
He had been chief executive of Orion Energy in the Hunter Valley, and had spent 10 years with the Electricity Commission of New South Wales.
Strange said he was very proud of what the Vector team had achieved and was delighted that the board had secured the services of a high-calibre executive to help the team lift the company further.
