DELTA CEO John Walsh to Retire

1 July 2008

The Chairman and CEO of DELTA jointly announced today that the search for a CEO will commence shortly, to replace present CEO, John Walsh, who will retire toward the end of the year.

Chairman Ray Polson advised that the board had been considering options over recent months, after John Walsh indicated to the board last year that he intended to retire during 2008-2009, at a time convenient to the board and his replacement.

Mr Walsh noted that CEO replacements typically take three to six months, with the longer timeframe being likely due to DELTA's diverse business opportunities. Accordingly, it had been agreed that the recruitment process would commence in the second half of 2008.

Mr Walsh has been CEO of DELTA and its two previous organizations (DCC Municipal Electricity Department, and Dunedin Electricity Ltd) since 1989 - a period of 19 years. "It's time for a change for me and for DELTA" he said.

Mr Polson noted that over that period, Mr Walsh had rationalized the previous electricity organizations down from a size of 333 full-time-equivalent employees in 1989 to 126 in 1996, and had then led the creation of DELTA, the broadening of focus to non-electrical infrastructure and DELTA’s development to its present size of 560 employees. "His knowledge and experience will be greatly missed" he said.

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