Duke Energy Corp. leader Lynn Good is passing her president’s title to a 28-year company veteran as part of a group of management changes that includes longtime executive Steve Young preparing to retire.
Good, 64, has been board chair, president and CEO of Charlotte-based Duke since the beginning of 2016. On April 1, 53-year-old Harry Sideris will become president and assume responsibility for the operations and customer service of Duke’s electric and gas utilities across the Southeast. The appointment places Sideris, who has been executive vice president of customer experience, solutions and services since October 2019, at the front of the line to possibly succeed Good as Duke’s CEO.
“Harry’s leadership experiences have included nearly every facet of Duke Energy’s operations as well as extensive regulatory and stakeholder experience,” Good said in a statement. “This uniquely qualifies him to lead our utilities and operations in this period of transformation […] Having worked closely with him over the last several years, I am confident of his commitment to our customers, communities, investors and stakeholders.”
Before stepping into his customer experience role, Sideris was, among other things, Duke’s chief distribution officer for almost a year and a half, president of its Florida operations and the holding company’s senior VP of environmental health and safety.
Alongside Sideris’ promotion, Duke also said Young, 65, will on June 30 retire after 44 years with the company, where he started as a financial assistant out of college. During his career, he held a hatful of leadership roles, including CFO for nine years. Since September 2022, he has been chief commercial officer, a role that oversees Duke’s commercial renewables and natural gas units as well as generation and transmission strategy and information technology.
“Through all seasons and circumstances, Steve’s leadership has made a difference for Duke Energy,” Good said. “He has played a key role in shaping and implementing the strategy that has positioned us as a pure-play regulated company with a clear path for growth.”
Young’s planned retirement and Sideris’ promotion means some other Duke executives are seeing their portfolios change in the following ways:
• Julie Janson, CEO of the Carolinas, has taken on responsibility for the company’s natural gas business
• Chief Information Officer Bonnie Titone is being appointed chief administrative officer and will oversee IT, cyber, supply chain and facilities and real estate.
• Sasha Weintraub, who had been running the natural gas division, has been named chief customer officer, a role that comprises pricing, rate design and economic development, among other things, in addition to traditional customer service functions.
• Scott Batson, who had been Duke’s chief distribution officer since late 2019, this month started working as the company’s chief power grid operations officer.
