Evergy, Inc. (NYSE: EVRG) today announced that Terry Bassham has informed the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of his decision to retire as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Evergy. To ensure a smooth transition, Bassham will continue to serve as Director, President and Chief Executive Officer of Evergy until his successor is appointed.

The Board has formed a search committee to complete the company’s CEO succession process. Tom Hyde, Lead Independent Director, Mollie Carter, Chair of the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee, Sandra Lawrence, Chair of the Nominating, Governance, and Corporate Responsibility Committee, Ann Murtlow, Chair of the Power Delivery and Safety Committee, and Paul Keglevic, Co-chair of the Strategic Review and Operations Committee and Finance Committee, along with Mark Ruelle, Board Chair, will serve as members of the committee, with Ruelle serving as its chair. The committee will review both internal and external candidates and expects to conclude its work by year end.

“Since closing the merger that created Evergy more than two years ago, we have exceeded our merger goals, creating more than $300 million in cost savings to benefit our customers and shareholders,” commented Bassham. “Our successful integration as a management team and strong, consistent execution to date has allowed us to exceed forecasted merger benefits and meet all of our regulatory commitments while improving operational excellence and increasing our involvement in the communities we serve. Now, with the creation and launch of our five-year Sustainability Transformation Plan, Evergy is well-positioned for its next chapter. As we embark on this new high-performance plan, I believe this is the right time for Evergy to transition to a new CEO who has the career runway to see the plan through from the start.”

Bassham, who turned 60 earlier this month, has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Evergy since its formation in 2018 through the combination of Great Plains Energy and Westar. Prior to that he served as the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Great Plains Energy since 2012.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve this great company. I am proud of our Evergy team and all we have built together,” continued Bassham. “I’ve always said that what I love most about Evergy is the people and the passion our employees have for our customers and communities. Evergy is embarking on a transformative journey that will result in a greener, more reliable and more affordable electric utility for Missourians and Kansans, with enhanced earnings growth and value creation for Evergy’s shareholders. Having served more than 15 years here in senior executive leadership roles, I feel that now is the right time to make a change to ensure leadership continuity through the execution of the Sustainability Transformation Plan.”

“The Board is grateful to Terry for his leadership in successfully bringing these two companies together to create a great, safe work environment that has allowed Evergy to fulfill all its commitments to our customers and our communities,” said Ruelle. “He has capably led our company through significant change. Now, he has positioned Evergy for greater growth to provide long-term sustainable value for shareholders and customers.”

Evergy announced its high-performance Sustainability Transformation Plan on August 5th of this year. The Board unanimously adopted it as the best risk-adjusted strategy to drive increased value for all Evergy’s stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, employees and the communities it serves. The plan resulted from a comprehensive, independent review that began earlier this year and was conducted by the Board’s Strategic Review & Operations Committee.

“Terry’s leadership as CEO and as a member of the Strategic Review and Operations Committee of the Board was instrumental in formulating the Sustainability Transformation Plan,” said Paul Keglevic, Evergy Board Member and Co-Chair of the Strategic Review and Operations Committee. “While the Board would like to see Terry continue to serve as Evergy’s CEO through the full implementation of the plan, we realize that does not match up with Terry’s personal timeline and, as such, agree with him that we have reached a natural inflection point to appoint a new CEO.”

During his tenure at Evergy, Bassham has held numerous leadership roles in industry organizations, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Electric Power Research Institute and the Edison Electric Institute. He has also been involved with a myriad of civic and charitable organizations, including board positions with GoTopeka, the Kansas City Symphony, the Linda Hall Library, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas State Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas City Civic Council, the Urban Neighborhood Initiative and Guadalupe Center, Inc. Bassham currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Commerce Bancshares.