Ben Graham, Chair of the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board announced that Allan Danroth has been named as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Manitoba Hydro, effective August 6, 2024.
The announcement was made at a recent press conference held at Manitoba Hydro’s head office in downtown Winnipeg, following an initial notification to all Manitoba Hydro employees.
Danroth succeeds Hal Turner, who served as the corporation’s President and CEO on an interim basis following the departure of Jay Grewal in February. Turner will remain as interim CEO until August 5.
“We are extremely pleased to announce that Allan will be joining the Manitoba Hydro team following an extensive local and national search process that took place over the last few months,” said Graham. “We know he is a proven, successful leader, with both extensive senior leadership experience in variety of energy and resource businesses, as well as ‘boots on the ground’ experience in power engineering. As a result, Allan brings both a sophisticated management and field perspective to Manitoba Hydro, which will be critical to guiding the utility forward in the coming years.”
Danroth joins Manitoba Hydro from Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, where he currently serves as Vice-President of Operations. He holds an M.B.A from Athabasca University, a First-Class Power Engineering designation and a diploma in Marketing and Management Sciences from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Before joining Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, Danroth held senior leadership positions at Capital Power, AV Nackawic and other resource, health and energy companies.
“I am extremely excited to be joining Manitoba Hydro at such an important time for the utility,” said Danroth. “I am looking forward to taking on this role, moving to Manitoba, and getting out to meet as many Manitoba Hydro employees, customers and other interested parties as I possibly can. I believe you build trust by being present and engaged, and by working with and listening to employees and the broader community. Keeping things simple and focused on Manitoba Hydro’s role as the province’s provider of electricity and natural gas will be key to preparing us for the energy world of tomorrow.”
Graham added he wanted to extend a personal note of thanks to interim CEO Hal Turner for his work over the past number of months as the board completed its search and selection process.
“It is never easy being thrust into an interim position,” said Graham. “Hal remains a critical part of the senior leadership team at Manitoba Hydro, and on behalf of all members of the Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board I want to thank him for his efforts and his leadership through this period.”
Danroth echoed those comments.
“I will be leaning on Hal a lot during my initial weeks and months on the job. I know he has done a great job keeping things on track over the last few months, and I thank him in advance for his support,” said Danroth.
Following the announcement and a media question and answer, Danroth and Turner spent the rest of the day meeting with staff at the utility’s head office.
