NRG Energy Inc. has appointed Lawrence Coben, chair of the board of directors, to interim president and CEO following the resignation of President and CEO Mauricio Gutierrez, according to a Nov. 20 press release.

The board has initiated a search to identify a permanent CEO, the release stated.

NRG Director Anner Schaumburg was also appointed to lead independent director.

“The board is confident in NRG’s strategic direction as a consumer energy and services company, and we extend our appreciation to Mauricio for his contributions in helping to build NRG’s solid foundation as we prepare for the next generation of leadership,” Coben said. “The integration of Vivint is well underway, and as a differentiated company at the intersection of energy and smart home technology, NRG has clear upside value creation opportunities.”

NRG also added four new independent directors to its board, pursuant to a cooperation agreement with Elliot Investment Management:

  • Marwan Fawaz, former executive advisor for Google and its parent company, Alphabet, and former CEO of Nest and of Motorola Home;
  • Kevin Howell, former COO of Dynegy Inc. and former regional president of NRG Texas;
  • Alex Pourbaix, executive chair and prior president and CEO of Cenovus Energy; and
  • Marcie Zlotnik, co-founder, COO and chair of Texas retail electricity provider, StarTex Power.

With these appointments, NRG’s board will consist of 13 directors; 12 are independent.

According to the release, Howell and Pourbaix will join the board’s CEO search committee, also joined by independent NRG directors Lisa Donohue (chair), Antonio Carrillo and Heather Cox.

It is expected that the size of the board will be reduced to 11 members in the second half of 2024, the release added.

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