Contact Energy's interim chairman Phil Pryke is to stand down from the board of the company he helped found 20 years ago, to be replaced as chairman by Sir Ralph Norris.
Mr Pryke's decision to stand aside is understood to follow strong opposition to the Sydney businessman's continued involvement by institutional investors who urged the company to use the departure from the share register of majority shareholder Origin Energy to pursue a fresh start.
"It is with a great sense of pride, and, I'll admit, a tinge of sadness that I have decided to retire from the board of Contact," said Mr Pryke in a statement to the NZX.
"As part of the process to find and appoint new directors and a chairman, I have spoken with investors - large and small - to gather their input on the types of skills and expertise required to direct Contact in the future."
Mr Pryke told BusinessDesk last month that while he would not seek reinstatement as permanent chairman at Contact, he hoped to be re-elected to the board at December's annual meeting.
It appears that opposition to his candidacy made him change his mind.
Sir Ralph comes to the Contact board after announcing his departure from the board of Fonterra in May, in which he cited the weight of other commitments for his departure.
He was chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia from 2005 to 2011 and before that, its New Zealand subsidiary ASB Bank. A stint as chief executive of Air New Zealand occurred between the two banking roles.
His appointment is a first step in refreshing the Contact board following the sale by Origin Energy last month of its 53.4 per cent majority shareholding in the NZX-listed electricity generator and retailer, which was the first state-owned power company to be privatised in a process that began in 1999.
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