NRG Energy shares rose Thursday after the power company announced the resignation of long-time CEO David Crane and named a replacement.
The company said Crane stepped down immediately, and he will be replaced by Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mauricio Gutierrez. Crane had served as CEO since 2003, a year before Gutierrez joined the Princeton, New Jersey-based company.
The company offered no reason in a brief statement announcing Crane’s resignation.
Shares of NRG Energy fell to a 10-year low after the company said Tuesday that it agreed to sell power plants in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Crane said then in a statement from the company that it was creating value for shareholders by streamlining its fleet of generating stations. He said the moves were part of an “ongoing and deliberate strategy of portfolio optimization.”
Last month, the company also announced third-quarter earnings that fell well short of expectations.
NRG Energy produces, sells and delivers energy and operates in New York, Chicago, Houston and Washington, D.C., among other major markets.
NRG Energy shares rose 19 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $10.98 in midday trading after climbing as high as $11.65 earlier in the day. The power company’s stock is down almost 63 percent in the past year.