British Gas Energy md decides it’s time to go

The man British Gas Energy Centres hired to guide the 240-strong retail chain through gas deregulation has quit the company, although deregulation is still six months from being fully implemented.

Simon Kirk, the one-time British Gas head of corporate marketing, was most recently managing director at British Gas Energy Centres. Staff at the Centres division were told this morning (Wednesday) of his decision to leave the company after 30 years.

But, according to sources, Kirk is not retiring. He will remain with the organisation until March to help find his replacement.

Last year, Energy Centres struck a deal with the Grattan catalogue company which gave the High Street white goods retailer access to Grattan’s 2.4 million customers. It was the first such retailer to make the move into the home shopping market.

Simon Waugh joined the Centrica Group, of which Energy Centres is a part, as group marketing director last June. He began a review of the group’s 30m media account last week. It is now shared between BMP Optimum, which handles the Energy Centres media, Manning Gottlieb Media, which handles the Goldfish credit card, and TMD Carat, which buys media for British Gas Services.

The creative advertising account for the energy centres is held by BMP DDB. British Gas refused to confirm Kirk’s departure.