The end of this year will symbolise the end of an era for ElectraNet. After nearly 15 years of loyal service, and numerous trials and triumphs, Ian Stirling is heading to greener pastures. It was a difficult decision to make, but Ian decided it was the right time to hand over the reigns. “You arrive at these things by a self-assessment process. I looked at what I was doing, we’ve had a challenge in the past couple of years, particularly because of the recent revenue determination by the Federal Regulator. I committed to the board to take $50 million worth of costs out of the business over time, and we have now commenced a number of initiatives to achieve this.”
”A new CEO shouldn’t have to go through that inevitable downsizing and cost reduction; they should start on an uplift. So I said I would take ElectraNet through that cost reduction and downsizing as my swan song. We have successfully commenced this program over the past year and we’re just starting the second year of the five-year program. I thought it was the right time, we’ve built the right momentum and we have also just embarked on a culture development program. Those changes to our business allowed us to reduce prices to our customers by around 13 per cent from July 2013. This is now the right time for me to retire from this successful business.”
”Do I feel the fire in the belly quite as much as eight or 10 years ago? The answer is probably no. Im 64 and I think my time as a full time CEO is coming to an end. Although Im happy to continue contributing to building successful businesses for another five to 10 years in a different capacity; through boards and advisory work. I see it as an exciting new portfolio career where I can share my skills and learnings, in a strategic sense, with a broader audience.”