National Grid hires former Shell and Rio exec Zoe Yujnovich as new CEO

National Grid PLC on Thursday said it has hired a former executive of oil major Shell PLC and miner Rio Tinto PLC to be its next chief executive.

Zoe Yujnovich was director of Integrated Gas & Upstream at Shell until the end of March, when she departed as part of a de-layering of reporting lines that saw her area split into separate Integrated Gas and Upstream divisions.

Prior to Shell, Yujnovich worked at Rio Tinto, including as chief executive of its iron ore company in Canada.

National Grid is a London-based electricity and gas utility that operates the UK’s national electricity grid, as well as the electricity and gas distribution system in the US state of New York.

Yujnovich will join the board on September 1 and become CEO on November 17, following the departure of John Pettigrew, who will retire after 10 years in post. Pettigrew had joined National Grid as a graduate in 1991, working his way up to CEO in 2016.

National Grid shares were down 0.4% to 1,078.50 pence early Thursday in London.

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