AGL appoints three new technology chiefs

Energy giant AGL has named the three new executives responsible for the company's IT environment after an internal restructure saw the CIO role disbanded.

Last month AGL announced the chief information officer role would be retired amidst a spill of the organisation's executive ranks. It meant the departure of long-time CIO Owen Coppage.

The restructure resulted in the creation of seven new core business units and functions.

AGL opted to split the functions of the CIO role into three separate positions - an executive general manager of finance and technology, an executive general manager of organisational transformation, and an executive GM of energy market operations.

Brett Redman was today named the new head of finance and technology. Redman had served as AGL's chief financial officer since 2012, and prior to that worked almost two years as its head of group strategy

As head of the finance and technology group, Redman will be responsible for IT partnerships, technology services, business analytics, IT strategy and architecture.

AGL also today announced Alistair Preston as its new head of organisational transformation.

Preston joins AGL from the Amsterdam operations of energy giant AES, where he worked as its chief financial officer for the EMEA region.

His new role at AGL will cover operational technology.

To wrap up the new trio of technology executives, AGL has appointed a new executive of energy market operations.

Stephen Mikkelsen - most recently AGL's head of retail energy and prior to that, its chief financial officer - has been appointed to the role. He will be responsible for digital and customer experience.

As a result, Anthony Fowler will depart AGL "on a date to be agreed". He had served as group general manager of merchant energy since 2010 and had worked at AGL since 2003. 

All three will report directly into the CEO.

"The industry is rapidly changing and faces significant challenges," AGL CEO Andy Vesey said last month.

"I am making a number of changes to our leadership structure to capitalise on the opportunities that this dynamic environment will present in the years ahead."