Hydro One Board Appoints Mayo Schmidt as President & CEO

TORONTO, Aug. 20, 2015 /CNW/ - The Board of Directors for Hydro One today announced the appointment of Mayo Schmidt as the company's incoming President and CEO. Mr Schmidt assumes this role as Hydro One prepares for its transition to a publicly traded company.

"We believe that Mr. Schmidt is the ideal person to lead Hydro One in its new era as a publicly held company, bringing a sharpened focus on system reliability, customer service and improved growth and performance," said David Denison, Chair of the Hydro One Board of Directors. "As the former CEO of Viterra and its predecessor, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Mr. Schmidt has an admirable track record of leading large scale business transformation and growth while generating value and benefits for investors, employees and customers alike."

As head of Viterra, Mr. Schmidt transformed a relatively small regional  co-operative into a publicly-held, multibillon dollar corporation with nearly 7,000 employees and operations around the world. In recognition of his accomplishments at Viterra, Mr. Schmidt  was  named "Chief Executive of the Year in 2009" by Canadian Business Magazine. Mr. Schmidt's most recent activities include leading a number of international growth and development projects.

"The opportunity to lead Hydro One through this critical transformation is both energizing and exciting," said Mr. Schmidt. "I believe we can shape Hydro One into the finest energy company of its kind globally, with a strengthened culture of service and customer satisfaction along with best-in-class performance which in turn will create avenues for new growth. This is the beginning of an enormous opportunity for all of us within Hydro One."  

Mr. Schmidt will commence his duties effective September 3, 2015, taking over from current President and CEO Carmine Marcello who will remain as an advisor to both Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Denison to provide support in the transition and the upcoming IPO.

"On behalf of the Hydro One Board of Directors I want to thank Carmine Marcello for his outstanding service as the company's President and CEO over the past three years. His leadership has been vital in preparing the company for this important transformation and we look forward to his continued involvement going forward," added Denison.

About Hydro One

Hydro One Inc. is an electricity transmission and distribution company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario with $23.1 billion in assets and 2014 revenues of $6.5 billion. The company delivers electricity safely and reliably to over 1.4 million customers across the province of Ontario, and to large industrial customers and municipal utilities. Hydro One owns and operates Ontario's 29,000 km high-voltage transmission network and a 188,000 km low-voltage distribution network. Hydro One is wholly owned by the Province of Ontario.

Forward Looking Information

This press release may contain "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws.  Such information includes, but is not limited to: statements related to potential growth, future performance and future opportunities.  Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "attempt," "may," "plan," "will", "can", "believe," "seek," "estimate," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking information. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking information. Some of the factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed, implied or forecasted by such forward-looking information, including some of the assumptions used in making such statements, is discussed more fully in Hydro One's filings with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, and are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Hydro One does not intend, and it disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, except as required by law.

Mayo Schmidt Bio – One Pager

Mr. Schmidt most recently served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director at Viterra, Inc., the global food ingredients company.  During his tenure, he exercised a disciplined and decisive approach that shaped the Company and transformed the once regionally based organization into a global enterprise that is represented across four continents and supported by a global intelligence network and a strong financial foundation.  He and his  team focused on operational excellence to create greater value for customers and shareholders.  Through Mr. Schmidt's strategic direction, Viterra established a platform for healthy growth at a time when demand for food was steadily rising.  

Mr. Schmidt was recognized in the Financial Post's Top 10 CEO Scorecard Rankings in 2011, named CEO of the Year in 2009 by Canadian Business Magazine, received the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, and was named one of Saskatchewan's Top 10 Men of Influence in 2005.

Early in his career Mr. Schmidt held a number of key management positions of increasing responsibility at General Mills, Inc. until he joined ConAgra Grain, Canada as President and spearheaded ConAgra's expansion.  He was promoted to Executive Vice-President, Domestic and International Operations with KBC Trading and Processing Company, a global subsidiary of ConAgra Inc.   In 2000, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the leading Canadian agriculture corporation.  In 2005, he was named President, joined the Board of Directors, and led Saskatchewan Wheat Pool to become a listed public corporation. In 2007, he led a $2.0 billion dollar acquisition of Agricore United, then $2.2 billion acquisition of ABB, Australia's leading agriculture corporation, and grew Viterra from a $54 million dollar market cap. Finally, in December 2012, he led the sale of Viterra for $7.5 billion to a Swiss global mining and agriculture giant.

Mr. Schmidt currently sits on the Board of Directors of Agrium Inc., a global agriculture firm and the Global Transportation Hub Authority.  He was a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executive Officers, Executive Committee Member of The Conference Board of Canada, Trustee of The Conference Board Inc. USA, and Harvard's Private and Public, Scientific, Academic and Consumer Food Policy Group, and is on Washburn University's Foundation board of Trustees.  Mr. Schmidt's most recent activities include leading a number of international growth and development projects.

Mr. Schmidt received his B.B.A. from Washburn in 1980. While at Washburn, he earned both athletic and academic scholarships. He was team captain of both the football and track team and received the Outstanding Player Award for football. After graduation, Mr. Schmidt signed a three-year contract with the Miami Dolphins, but left during the first year to pursue a business career.

He completed his 6th Ironman in 2012 including the World Championships in 2006.  Mr. Schmidt has two daughters.

SOURCE Hydro One Inc.

Daffyd Roderick, Director, Corporate Communications, 416-345-6868; Hydro One Investor Relations, 416-345-6867