The new chair of the board at Hydro One is set to clean house and cut pay in the executive suite following the July ouster of CEO Mayo Schmidt, says Premier Doug Ford.
Ford, who mockingly nicknamed Schmidt “the six-million-dollar man” during the spring election campaign, told reporters Wednesday that Hydro One has been given six months to trim “generous pay packages” at the former Crown corporation still owned 47 per cent by Ontario taxpayers.
Leading the new board is interim chair Tom Woods, a veteran investment banker with 37 years at CIBC who rose to chief financial officer and vice-chairman.
“He will recruit a new long-term senior management team for the company, a team that will respect the people of Ontario,” Ford said.
The development comes as Hydro One searches for a new chief executive without firm salary guidelines in place. Neither Ford nor Energy Minister Greg Rickford would say how low pay packets should go.
“We are sending a clear message to the entire energy sector that, for our government, respect for the people, respect for the ratepayers comes first,” said Rickford.
Critics have warned government meddling in pay levels for a publicly traded company like Hydro One will send a chill through the business community, and make it hard to attract and retain top talent. The company issued the same caution in its latest securities findings.
So far, only one of Schmidt’s key team — customer care and corporate affairs executive vice-president Ferio Pugliese, formerly of WestJet — is leaving Hydro One for a new position elsewhere. In 2017, company filings show he was paid a base salary of $525,000 with short-term and long-term incentives boosting his annual compensation to $1.95 million.
His departure was announced Tuesday in a Hydro One conference call with investment industry analysts after the company’s new board was appointed and the latest quarterly earnings of $200 million released, up from $117 million in the same period last year.
Under new legislation passed earlier this summer, which came into effect this week, the provincial government retains the power to control board, CEO and senior executive salaries until the end of 2022. Any changes in executive pay at Hydro One require 30 days public notice.
