Centerpoint Energy has appointed Xia Liu as its new CFO. She replaces Bill Rogers who announced his intention to retire on November 27, 2018.
Centerpoint has a market cap of $15 billion. In February it completed its $6 billion takeover of Vectren, a utility company with 1 million retail customers in Indiana and Ohio. In total it now serves 7 million customers in 8 states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas being the others).
Ms Liu joins from Georgia Power Company where she was the CFO and Treasurer. Georgia Power is a subsidiary of Southern Co that serves 2.5 million retail customers. Ms Liu had spent 20 years in various roles at Southern Co. She has a master’s degree in finance from Renmin University in Beijing, China. She also has a master’s degree in business administration from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Ms Liu has also served on numerous boards of directors of non-profit organizations, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Florida TaxWatch and Gulf Coast Health Systems.
Ms Liu will receive a base salary of $550,000 and a sign-on bonus of $100,000. She also receives 25,000 restricted stock units (current stock price $30) that vest over 2 years.
Mr Rogers had a base salary of $595,000 and received a lump-sum payment of $360,000 in connection with his retirement. He had been the CFO for 4 years and had been with the company since 2001.