Duke Energy names company vet its new CEO as Lynn Good announces retirement plans
Duke Energy’s board of directors appointed president Harry Sideris as its next CEO, effective April 1, the Charlotte-based energy giant announced Monday morning.
It’s also a major change for the C-suite scene in Charlotte for one of the region’s top employers and most prominent companies.
Sideris, 53, will replace Lynn Good. She is retiring from her role as CEO April 1 after serving at the company for more than two decades, including nearly a dozen years as CEO. Good was also the rare female leader of a Fortune 500 company.
Good became Duke Energy’s leader in July 2013 after the company merged with former rival Progress Energy. Before her CEO role, Good was the chief financial officer for Duke Energy.
Sideris has served as president of Duke Energy since April 2024 and worked for Duke Energy for 29 years. Some of his work involved leading the company’s electric and gas utilities, operations, customer service and other services.
Lead independent director Ted Craver will become independent chair of the Duke Energy Board of Directors, also effective April 1, according to Duke Energy. Craver has served on the company’s board since 2017.
‘The honor of a lifetime’ at Duke Energy
Duke Energy praised Good’s efforts to serve customers and investors. The company also gave her credit for guiding it through a constantly changing business environment.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead this company for the last 11 years and to serve with an industry leading team,” Good stated in a news release. “Working with communities, policymakers, and other stakeholders, I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
Good also was the face of the company during two high-profile incidents over the past decade
In 2014, she led Duke Energy’s response after coal ash spilled into the Dan River at one of its retired power plants in Eden.
A Duke Energy guard discovered a broken stormwater pipe on Feb. 2, 2014, at the plant 130 miles northeast of Charlotte, The Charlotte Observer reported. The company struggled for several days to stop the spill, which saw the discharge of an estimated 39,000 tons of ash. Massive cleanup work and legislation involving Duke Energy followed.
She also guided Duke Energy after an attack on its electrical power grid in Moore County on Dec. 3, 2022. The gunfire attacks left more than 45,000 customers without power for almost four days, The News&Observer reported.
In response, Duke Energy implemented a four-year, $500 million plan to protect substations.
Good also was focused on Duke Energy having an aggressive clean energy strategy to achieve its climate goals, according to the company.
For electricity generation, this includes a 50% carbon reduction by 2030, 80% by 2040 and net-zero by 2050. The company has said it has reduced carbon emissions by 44% since 2005.
Good started her utility career in 2003 with Cincinnati-based Cinergy, which merged with Duke Energy three years later. Before that role, Good was a partner at two international accounting firms, including with Arthur Andersen.
In a securities filing, Duke Energy said “Good’s retirement is not the result of any disagreement regarding any matter relating to the corporation’s operations, policies, or practices.”
Finding Duke Energy’s new CEO
Duke’s pick for CEO was a multiyear process, according to Craver. He said Sideris’ having about three decades of accomplishments in the field qualified him to lead the company.
Board members also approved an annual base salary of $1.3 million for Sideris as of April 1, a short-term incentive opportunity equal to 150% of his annual base salary and a long-term incentive opportunity equal to 750% of that annual base salary, according to a securities filing.
Sideris said he’s honored to step into his new role, and also thanked Good for her leadership and guidance.
“The valuable position that we’ve attained under (Good’s) leadership, the opportunities before us, and our employees’ steadfast commitment to our customers and shareholders make our future bright,” Sideris stated.
Sideris started with Progress Energy before it merged with Duke Energy in 2012. His experience includes customer, operations and regulatory roles.
Before Sideris became president last year, he had many leadership duties with Duke Energy. This includes executive vice president of customer experience, solutions and services; president of Duke Energy Florida; vice president of environmental, health and safety; and vice president of power generation for fossil/hydro operations in the western regions of North Carolina and South Carolina.
More on Duke Energy
Duke Energy is ranked No. 148 on the latest Fortune 500 list of biggest U.S. companies by revenue.
The company serves 8.4 million customers in the Carolinas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. As of Dec. 31, Duke Energy had more than 26,000 employees and approximately 4,500 in the Charlotte headquarters, according to the company.
Regional divisions Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress supplies electricity to 4.6 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. The service area is 52,000 square miles.
The company has operating revenues of $29 billion and assets worth $176.9 billion.
This story was originally published January 13, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
