The Eon energy manager Michael Lewis is to become CEO of the nationalized energy company Uniper. The Uniper Supervisory Board decided this in an extraordinary meeting, the Düsseldorf-based group announced on Wednesday. The formal appointment should take place soon, as soon as the exact starting date has been determined. Lewis’ contract will be for five years. The term of office of the previous CEO Klaus-Dieter Maubach ended on Tuesday.
According to Uniper, Lewis has over 30 years of experience in the energy sector “with a particular focus on the area of renewable energies”. The 55-year-old Brit started his career in 1993 at Powergen in Great Britain. He has held various positions at Eon since 2007. He has been CEO of Eon UK since 2017.
Uniper made an excellent choice with Lewis, explained Eon boss Leonhard Birnbaum. One regrets that he wants to leave Eon. “We are currently in constructive talks with Uniper to reach an agreement on a suitable replacement date.” A selection process for a successor to Michael Lewis at Eon has already begun. Until the transition is guaranteed, Lewis will continue the business of Eon UK unchanged.
Importer for more than 500 municipal utilities
According to Uniper, until Michael Lewis takes office, the duties of the CEO will be taken over by the new Chief Financial Officer, Jutta Dönges, and Holger Kreetz, who is responsible for operational business. Both officially took up their posts on March 1st.
Uniper was saved from collapse last year with billions in taxes. The reason for the imbalance was the lack of gas deliveries from Russia. As a result, Germany’s largest gas importer had to buy the raw material on the market at significantly higher prices in order to fulfill its contracts. As a gas wholesaler, Uniper supplies more than 500 municipal utilities, among others. The federal government has held 99.1 percent of the shares since the end of the year.
