The ESB board has established a subcommittee to appoint a successor to Mr Ken O'Hara, who is retiring as chief executive next July. The directors are keen to make the appointment quickly - possibly as soon as the New Year period - and it is thought that certain figures working below the company's top tier management will be encouraged to apply.
Many of the ESB's executive management team are also expected to apply for the job and some are expected to make their initial moves on the position soon.
The team comprises: group finance director Mr Tony Donnelly; commercial director Mr Padraig McManus; head of human resources Mr Seβn O'Driscoll; director of international investments Mr D≤nal Curtin; the managing director of engineering and commercial business Mr Seβn Wyse; and company secretary Mr Larry Donald. The chief executive of the national grid division, Mr Kieran O'Brien, is also on that team. However, the grid operator, EirGrid, is in the process of a formal separation from the core company.
A recruitment consultant will be engaged with a mandate to look outside and within the company for a suitable candidate.
While the Government and the Department of Public Enterprise are believed to favour the appointment of an outsider, it is thought the board will approach the competition on the basis that no option has been ruled out.
An outside candidate could bring private sector experience to bear on an organisation that is expected to assess its future ownership strategy in 2003.
Mr O'Hara championed a stock market flotation plan earlier this year, but that was blocked by the company's trade unions. The company faces competition in the liberalising market but also wants to develop a large international business.
However, its plans to invest 1.4 billion (£1.1 billion) in a cluster of eight firms in Poland were blocked last summer by the Government. That decision was seen as a blow to Mr O'Hara and to the chairman, Mr Tadhg O'Donoghue.
The position of chief executive will be advertised.
A parallel process to appoint a new managing director to the company's Irish Electricity division has also begun. This follows the unexpected death last month of Mr Ted Dalton.
It is not known which board members are on the subcommittee, though it is likely to be chaired by Mr O'Donoghue. That role is common for chairmen at other State companies.
