Mighty River Power has appointed Fraser Whineray as its new chief executive.
Mr Whineray has been with the company for five years and is currently the general manager of operations.
He takes up his new role on 1 September replacing Doug Heffernan who retires after 14 years.
Mighty River chair Joan Withers says the board considered candidates from New Zealand, Australia and further afield.
Before joining Mighty River Power in 2008, Mr Whineray worked for Carter Holt Harvey and had senior roles in the dairy industry and with Credit Suisse First Boston.
Mr Whineray will earn a base salary of $850,000 with the potential to earn up to $1.3 million if financial goals are hit.
Meanwhile, Mr Heffernan says he's going to take a well-deserved break from September for at least a year before considering his next step.
