After overseeing the company’s buyout by a Canadian corporation, Joplin-based Empire District Electric Co. President and CEO Brad Beecher is retiring.
Beecher, 50, plans to retire March 31 after 29 years in the utility industry, according to a news release.
Beecher was promoted from executive vice president and chief operating officer to lead the company in 2011 after the retirement of Bill Gipson,
who was 54 at the time.
Most recently, Beecher was involved in Empire District’s $2.3 billion purchase by Oakville, Ontario-based Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.’s (TSX: AQN) U.S. subsidiary Liberty Utilities Co. Through the deal, Empire District kept its name and its logo now reads, “Empire District, a Liberty Utilities company.”
“We owe Brad a huge debt of gratitude for the leadership and vision he has provided to Empire District,” Liberty Utilities President David Pasieka said in the release. “Among many other accomplishments, he successfully led the company through the recovery effort after the May 2011 Joplin tornado, as well as the largest environmental improvement program in the company’s history.
“He has provided a strong foundation for the existing members of the Empire leadership team to ensure the continued success of Empire District as part of the Liberty Utilities organization.”
Starting Feb. 1, David Swain will lead Empire District as president. In the position, he’ll oversee Liberty Utilities’ central region, according to the release.
With 37 years of utility experience, Swain most recently worked as president of Liberty Utilities’ New Hampshire region. He has past experience overseeing Liberty Utilities’ operations in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. Swain intends to relocate to Joplin for the job.
It’s unclear if Beecher’s retirement and the acquisition are related. A spokeswoman could not be reached for comment this morning.
On Springfield Business Journal’s recent list of southwest Missouri’s highest-paid CEOs, Beecher ranked fourth with total fiscal 2015 compensation of $1.8 million. His compensation was down 15 percent compared with the prior year, according to the list research.
Through the recent buyout, Empire District’s 218,000 customers in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas joined Liberty Utilities’ 800,000 customers in 13 states.
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