Dorothy Thompson to leave Drax after 12 years at the helm

The company’s current finance chief Will Gardiner will succeed Ms Thompson who will leave the group at the end of 2017.

Shares ​in​ the company, which owns the UK’s largest power station in North Yorkshire, fell 1.5 per cent in early trading.

M​r​ Gardiner​ will take over the top role on January 1 next year following Ms Thompson's decision to step down.

H​e​ joined Drax as ​g​roup ​c​hief ​f​inancial ​o​fficer and a member of the ​b​oard in November 2015. The ​b​oard ​said it ​has kept succession planning well under review and his new appointment comes after a thorough selection process involving internal and external candidates.

Drax Chairman, Philip Cox said: "We are delighted Will is to become ​c​hief ​e​xecutive. He has been a key architect of our new strategy and is a focused, innovative and engaging leader.

​"​His appointment is a natural progression after two years working alongside Dorothy developing an ambitious strategy which I am confident will create significant benefits for all Drax's stakeholders.

"On behalf of the ​b​oard I would like to thank Dorothy for her enormous contribution to Drax. She transformed the business during her tenure and leaves the ​g​roup in a strong position with a clear strategy that lays the foundations for further success in a changing energy sector."

​​The move comes as Drax is speeding up plans to convert its units to gas.

Under pressure from G​overnment plans to close all coal plants by 2025, Drax has increasingly turned to burning compressed wood pellets, or biomass.

The company will begin the process of appointing a new chief financial officer and will also review the option of making an appointment on an interim basis. ​

​Mr Gardiner said: "I am thrilled to be appointed as group chief executive at this exciting time for Drax.

"The changes we are seeing in the UK energy sector are unprecedented and we have an opportunity to thrive while doing the right thing for the UK energy market. Drax's people have demonstrated repeatedly their ability to deliver transformational change and I'm delighted to be working with them to build on Dorothy's strong legacy."

​Ms Thompson said: "Drax Group plays a strategic role in the UK electricity sector generating around 16 per cent of UK renewable electricity, is a world leader in the production of wood pellets and is a leading challenger brand in the supply of electricity to businesses.

"I retire knowing the group is in excellent shape. It has the right strategy, the right team and in Will, the right leader."

​Analyst John Musk at RBC Capital Markets said: "While this announcement wasn’t entirely expected we have been of the view that Dorothy may be coming to the end of her tenure, although we believed she might take the opportunity to try one more role rather than head into retirement.

"Over the past 12 years she has led a transformation at Drax and navigated the company through some extremely difficult regulatory and political issues. We imagine the majority of shareholders will be disappointed to see her leave.

"However, the shareholder register of Drax is extremely concentrated - the top five own around 66 per cent - and major shareholders will no doubt have been consulted on the change.

"We also believe that Will Gardiner is ideally placed to take up the reigns at Drax. He has impressed in his two years at the company and has been involved in the more recent transformation of the company as it moves away from a pure-play commodity sensitive generator into a more balanced growth entity."