Centrica appoints Jeff Bell as CFO amid talk of drastic cost cutting

CENTRICA has named Jeff Bell as its permanent chief financial officer following a stint in the interim job.

Bell was appointed interim CFO on 1 September last year following the departure of finance director Nick Luff, who resigned to join the Anglo-Dutch publishing group Reed Elsevier in the same position.

Bell’s appointment comes amid reports the energy giant will unveil drastic cost-cutting plans following a comprehensive strategic review that has been underway since January. At the same time, Centrica is expected to announce that its British Gas business has delivered a 50% rise in profits to £390m in the first half of the year.

Iain Conn, chief executive of Centrica, said Bell played a “critical role” in the strategic review process.

“Since I joined the company in January this year, I have been very impressed by Jeff’s capability. His leadership of the finance function and his considerable expertise has been instrumental in implementing the improved financial resilience of the Company since the beginning of the year,” Conn said.