LONDON (Reuters) - British utility Centrica (L:CNA) has hired insurance executive Mark Hodges to lead its British Gas energy supply unit, Britain's largest energy provider that is at the centre of a market-wide competition probe.
Hodges, who was most recently chief executive of insurance broker Towergate Partnership and has led insurer Aviva 's (L:AV) UK business, will take up his role on June 1, Centrica said in a statement.
British Gas executives often come under fire from the public who have seen a steep rise in energy bills.
"I am excited by the great potential the company has to benefit customers through improved service and in developing new products," Hodges said in the statement.
Centrica lost its long-serving international downstream and British Gas head, Chris Weston, in December as part of a huge management reshuffle that also saw the appointment of a new chief executive at the start of this year.
The utility said Ian Peters, who has been leading British Gas on an interim basis since Weston's departure, would work on its contribution to the competition watchdog's market investigation.
The Competition and Markets Authority is undertaking a market-wide probe into whether any of Britain's energy suppliers have acted anti-competitively. The investigation is expected to conclude at the end of this year.