Vistra (NYSE:VST) said Monday that its board of directors has named 16-year company veteran Jim Burke as its next CEO effective Aug. 1, replacing Curt Morgan after a transition period.

The move is part of the company’s formal succession planning process, Vistra said.

“I am incredibly honored and humbled to assume the responsibility of leading Vistra,” said Burke, currently the Texas-based company’s CFO. Vistra hopes to name his replacement before Aug. 1.

CEO Curt Morgan is leaving Vistra after 37 years in the industry. | © RTO Insider LLC

Burke joined Vistra when it was TXU Corp., under new CEO C. John Wilder’s leadership, in 2005 following the company’s international financial difficulties. In 2007, the company was bought by private equity investors in a $45 billion leveraged buyout and went private as Energy Future Holdings. It declared bankruptcy in 2014, eventually emerging as Vistra Energy in 2016.

Burke was CEO of TXU Energy, Vistra’s retail company, until 2016, when he was named COO. He became CFO in December 2020. He was president and COO of Gexa Energy before joining TXU.

Morgan has served as Vistra’s CEO since 2016 and has a 37-year career in the power industry. He said in a statement that with the company having “created significant value for our shareholders, transformed our company … and firmly established Vistra as a leader in the country’s energy transition, now is the right time for this leadership transition.”

Vistra board Chair Scott Helm thanked Morgan for his leadership in helping grow the company into “one of the largest power producers and retailers in the United States.”

“While achieving this tremendous growth, Vistra has also significantly reduced its carbon footprint by retiring coal-fueled power plants and is rapidly growing its zero-carbon portfolio [Vistra Zero], all while returning a substantial amount of capital to its financial stakeholders,” Helm said.

Morgan will remain until next April as a special adviser to Burke and the board, a spokesperson said.